A Strange Arrival
by AdventureAddict
Summary: Sequel. After the death of yet another beloved friend, Ed has to find a way to move on with his life. And then he meets a strange boy trying to get to Central. He tries to show Ed that life still goes on, even after losing someone special.
1. Ed's Assignment

Okay people, this is really kinda part two to The New Neighbors, but I wanted to get a new title for it, considering that 'The New Neighbors' doesn't really fit anymore. I don't suggest reading this if you haven't already read TNN, but if you really want to, fine. It's okay, as long as you don't leave a review that says, "I don't get it. What's going on? This story's stupid." If people ask nicely, I will give them a summary (if you're lazy) But if you want to read the first part, the id is 3182504. Or don't do either and wallow in your own confusion.

**As you all know, AdventureAddict does not in any way own any part of Fullmetal Alchemist. You should know this by now. I said it for all 25 chapters of The New Neighbors. If you do not know this by now, you are either horrible at paying attention or a dimwit. Or maybe even both. **

On wit' da show!

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A Strange Arrival

Chapter One – Ed's Assignment

"It's time to wake up, Big Brother! Come on, get out of bed!"

Ed groaned and pulled the pillow down tightly over his head. He'd been getting up faithfully every day for Al for more than a year now, and he was getting sick of it. He wanted to have an entire day to sleep. A day without anybody bugging him about problems in the outside world. He had enough problems to deal with on his own.

"_Wherever you go, go with all your heart."_

Robyn's words from so long ago floated across Ed's mind, and he slowly pulled the pillow off his head with an agitated sigh. That one little line that Robyn had said so long ago was what made him continue to climb out of bed every day, even on the days when Mustang wanted to see him.

"Okay, okay, I'm up," Ed muttered as he dragged himself out of bed. Al looked over from across the room.

"You slept with that necklace on again?" he asked, and Ed reached up across his bare chest to feel the guitar pick necklace Robyn had given him still hanging around his neck. He had gotten so accustomed to its feel over the past few moths that he had recently started sleeping with it on.

"Yeah, I slept with it on again," he said softly as he rubbed one of the picks between his two fingers.

"You shouldn't do that, Brother. You could end up breaking one of the picks," Al told him as Ed went over to his suitcase and grabbed his shirt and pants.

"Yeah, I know I could break it," Ed sighed as he stuck his legs into the shiny black pants. "I just forget about it sometimes, that's all." Or maybe a part of him deep down wanted to keep the necklace on all the time.

"Okay," Al sighed as he snapped up the suitcase. "You ready?"

"As soon as I get my gloves," he said after pulling on his black undershirt, and then the long sleeve black shirt on top of that. He was grateful for all his layers in the winter, but he hated them in the summer, no matter how thin the fabric was.

"They're on the nightstand," Al told him. Ed reached over, grabbed them and then pulled them on.

"Kay, let's go," Ed mumbled as he made sure the guitar pick necklace was hidden beneath his shirt. They were going to go see Mustang today, and he didn't want to hear any more crap than he had to.

"You, it's kind of funny, but I don't think we ever stayed in a hotel in Central before this," Al commented as they walked down to the lobby.

"Well that's because we never had a train that got here so late the Military HQ was locked up," Ed answered simply as he paid for their stay. "We only stayed here because we had to. Er-" he looked over at the hotel owner. "No offense!" he added sheepishly.

"None taken," the hotel owner replied as he counted the money Ed had given him. "I wouldn't make enough to put bread on the table if people didn't stay here because they had to."

"Here," Ed said as he handed the man a little extra money. "That's a tip for getting us a room at one in the morning."

"Thank you, Mr. Elric," the man thanked Ed. "It was a pleasure to have two guests that come in late and leave early and still pay the full cost plus a tip!" Al laughed a little at the comment, but Ed still had the same bored expression as they walked out the door.

"You know Brother, I haven't really seen you smile for a while," Al commented.

"_A teenager shouldn't have so many worries that they never smile. Hell, even I smile!" Robyn laughed. _

"You need to loosen up a little," Al continued, oblivious to Ed's shoulders tensing. "Maybe we could-"

"Do you even remember Robyn?!" Ed finally snapped. Al jumped slightly at the outburst and looked over at Ed.

"Of course I remember her!" he said quickly. "But don't you think that- It's just that- Maybe-" he sighed. "Maybe we should move on with our lives, Brother. We should still remember Robyn, but her death shouldn't mess up _our_ future." Ed snapped his gaze away from Al, his eyes cold. "I'm just trying to- Never mind," Al sighed, and the two continued the rest of the walk in silence.

It surprised Al how quickly the morning had gone from easygoing and laid-back to tense and silent. But that always happened whenever one of them brought up Robyn, he realized. Ed was always secretive and edgy, but he was even _more _secretive and edgy if Al ever brought up Robyn.

T-H-I-S—IS—A—D-I-V-D-I-N-G—L-I-N-E

"Hey, Fullmetal."

"Hi, Colonel," Ed sighed. The rest of the military thought that the relationship between Roy and Ed was the same, but they didn't know that seeing Roy was even more painful for Ed than it used to be, because every time he looked at Roy he saw Robyn's dark hair, or the same shape of her eyes, or the same smirk they got when they knew something Ed didn't. It drove Ed crazy. He didn't want to be around Robyn's grandfather all the time; he wanted to be around Robyn.

"I was expecting you yesterday," Roy said, earning a sigh from Ed.

"I know," Ed said angrily. "But the storm yesterday damaged the tracks, so our train came in late."

"Well, then I'm surprised that you're here this early in the morning," Roy said. "Wouldn't they have needed to get cars out there to transport everyone?"

"They would have, if Al hadn't finally managed to wake me up and we both fixed the track together with alchemy," Ed admitted.

"It was hard," Al agreed. "It had to be perfect, or otherwise the train could end up derailing or something."

"Oh," Roy said.

Silence.

Ed and Al had finished their explanation, and Ed didn't feel like making idle chit-chat with Roy, so the three were all quiet, waiting for Roy to explain why he had summoned Ed.

"You guys are from Resembool, right?" Roy asked suddenly, and both boys looked up in surprise.

"Huh?"

"Well, I heard that around this time of year they have their annual 'Harvest Festival,'" Roy explained.

"Oh great," Ed muttered, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples.

"It sounds like fun," Roy said with a smirk, gaining momentum from Ed's reaction. "And you hardly ever take any time off, Ed. So I was thinking that you could have a week off and go enjoy yourself."

"Oh no," Ed said quickly, snapping his head up to look at Roy.

"Why not?" Al asked. "I haven't been to the festival in years. Remember how fun it was, Brother?"

"I don't want a repeat of fourth grade," Ed told Al. "You can go if you want, but I'm not going!"

"What happened in fourth grade?" Roy asked Al curiously.

"You better not," Ed growled.

"Well, the one thing about the Harvest Festival is that everybody has to contribute," Al explained. "Some people bring food, and other people perform. That way, the whole festival is free to anyone who brings something. And back in fourth grade, Ed dropped the pumpkin pie that mom had made him carry, so-"

"Hey!" Ed shouted, but Al finished the sentence anyway.

"They made him sing." Roy barely managed to stifle a laugh as Ed's cheeks turned a light shade of pink and he crossed his arms angrily.

"But we could make some little statues or something before we go, and then you won't have to do any kind of performance, Brother," Al told Ed quickly "Can we _please_ go?"

"People always love little statues," Roy commented softly from his desk.

"And what if I drop them again?" Ed asked Al.

"Then we can make some more!" Al said quickly. "Please Brother? Please?" he begged, clutching his hands together. Ed was worried that if he didn't give in soon, Al would fall to his knees to beg more effectively.

"Oh, all right," Ed sighed. "As long as I get some of Mrs. Koslowski's famous apple pie," he added quickly.

"Of course you'll get some of her pie," Al laughed. "She knows how much you love it, and always ends up bringing you a piece."

"So it's settled then!" Roy said as he stood up. "And while you're in the area, I heard that this one guy makes some really great wine for the Festival every year. I would pay you back if you got me a bottle for a date-"

"So that's why you were willing to give me a week off!" Ed shouted angrily. "You don't want me to take it easy for a week, you just want some wine for a girl!" Roy just shrugged innocently.

T-H-I-S—IS—A—D-I-V-D-I-N-G—L-I-N-E

"I still don't see why we're doing this," Ed muttered as they walked towards the center of town. Ed could already see the banners and hear the sounds of the large crowd. He could even catch a slight scent of some of the foods there.

"It'll be fun," Al reassured him. In his arms was a large box full of their small creations for the fair. "And I bet Winry will be surprised to see us too!"

"Whoo-hoo," Ed said weakly, even though he really was glad to see Winry.

"Oh, Edward! Alphonse!" the man at the entrance of the festival said excitedly. "It's been a while since we've seen you at the Harvest Festival!"

"Yeah, we know," Ed sighed.

"Are you doing food, merchandise or performance?" the man asked. Ed knew from past fairs that the man was there in order to direct people to where they should set up.

"We have merchandise this time," Al told the man, who nodded in understanding.

"Ah yes. We'll all miss your mother's pies," the man sighed. "They were a classic at the festival." He paused for a moment as if he was remembering the pies, then continued, "Merchandise is down at the far end this year. I think there's a nice empty booth that has a clear view of the stage. Have fun, boys."

"Thank you," Al said as they walked in the direction the man had pointed.

They found the booth easily enough, and it really did have a nice view of the stage. All the booths at the festival were made out of solid wood with awnings hanging above them. After the festival, they would be dissembled and put into storage in multiple peoples' barns.

"This is nice," Al said as he put the box down and started unpacking. Ed nodded as a cool fall breeze blew strongly and ruffled through his hair. It wasn't freezing, but the weather was definitely letting them all know that it wasn't summer anymore.

Ed realized that they were late. Everybody else had already set up and started wandering around. The great thing about the Harvest Festival was that since it was free, nobody had to worry about people stealing their wares.

"I'll stay here and you look around," Ed told Al.

"But, Brother! That's no fun!" Al protested. "Come with me!"

"No," Ed said firmly. "It's nice to have someone here in case people ask questions."

Al looked at Ed nervously. "Okay," he said slowly, turning to go. "If you're sure."

"Just go," Ed sighed. "It's not like you're flying off to another country."

"No airplanes here, Brother," Al reminded him gently before walking off to another stand.

"Oh yeah," Ed muttered under his breath.

"Oh, sorry," Al said to a boy about Ed's age he had just bumped into. He seemed a bit flustered by Al, but most people were usually a little unnerved by a huge suit of armor.

"Uh, no… No, it's all right," the boy stammered. "I- I should have been watching where I was going." He then quickly hurried away from Al, a small boy with tousled blond hair trailing behind him. Ed watched curiously as the older boy wandered in his direction.

He looked a little strange, though Ed knew he was hardly one to criticize. The boy had on jeans, but not the Abercrombie and Fitch kind of jeans Ed was used to from America. They had more of a homemade feel to them, since Amestris wasn't yet into making all sorts of different clothes in factories. Ed knew that people had figured out how to make jeans cloth, but it wasn't cheap. The boy's pants must have cost a nice bundle.

Other than the jeans, the boy had typical clothes. He was wearing a loose turquoise t-shirt with an aviator jacket that had seen better days. His dark brown hair was cut short, like most boys his age had. The only thigh other than the jeans that was strange about his was that he was wearing sunglasses on a cloudy day.

The little boy trotting beside him was a bit more peculiar. He had the same sort of normal clothes a boy his age would have – shorts and a plain red t-shirt - but on his hands was a pair of gloves and a set of goggles was clamped on tightly over his eyes.

"Hey Ben, these are cool, huh?" the older boy asked, pointing to the small clay sculptures in front of Ed. "Do you want one?"

"A turtle! A turtle!" Ben screeched happily. The older boy looked up with a smile to ask Ed about turtles, but then suddenly jumped back in surprise.

"Sorry, there's no turtles," Ed told the brown-haired boy, who nodded meekly. "But I can make you one if you want," he then added to Ben, who grinned and clapped his hands together. Ed reached down and grabbed a handful of dirt, which he placed on the counter between him and Ben.

"Okay, is there anything special about this turtle?" Ed asked as he wiped his hands on his pants.

"Fangs!" Ben shouted instantly. "And claws!"

"Okay," Ed sighed, wondering if it was even physically possible for a turtle to have fangs or claws. He clapped his hands together and placed them on top of the pile of dirt, and after a flash of light a small turtle sculpture stood there, his fangs bared and claws ready to strike. Ben happily grabbed the turtle with his gloved hands and then knelt in the dirt to play.

"Why does he wear those gloves and goggles?" he asked the older boy, who finally snapped out of his trance and looked down at Ben sadly.

"He's got a rare disorder," he explained to Ed. "He can't feel any pain. He's got to wear the goggles to protect himself. He wouldn't feel a thing if he poked his eye until he went blind just because it was fun. The gloves keep him from scratching too hard."

"I've never heard of that before," Ed commented as Ben scratched one of his arms with a gloved hand.

"I did say it was rare," the older boy said contemptuously. "My name's Thomas," he said, holding a hand out to Ed. "And that's Benjamin."

"You're not from around here, are you?" Ed asked suspiciously. If they were from Resembool, then they must have moved there recently, because Ed could name all the kids his age in Resembool.

"No," Thomas shook his head. "We're heading up to Central. I'm hoping that there's a good doctor up there that might be able to help Ben. The conductor just mentioned the Harvest Festival on the train, so we thought we'd cheek it out."

"I don't know if anybody will be able to help with his… ah… _condition," _Ed said to Thomas as they watched Ben play with the turtle Ed had made. "Even the best doctors in Central can't change the way a person was born."

"Don't you listen when people talk to you?" Thomas sighed, and Ed looked over at him. "I didn't say that I hoped they could _cure_ him, I just said I hoped they could _help_ him. I'm not wishing for miracles."

"Whatever," Ed sighed, tired of being corrected all the time. He did listen to what people said, he just didn't memorize them word for word like this boy seemed to do. "You know," Ed said slyly to the boy, "If you come to the Harvest Festival, you have to bring something. What did you two bring?"

Thomas gulped.

T-H-I-S—IS—A—D-I-V-D-I-N-G—L-I-N-E

"Al! Hey, Al, over here!" Winry shouted as she quickly darted through the crowd until she finally arrived at Al's side. He was standing in front of a stand with nesting dolls, which he had been looking at intently until Winry had come along.

"I didn't know you and Ed were her for the Harvest Festival!" she said excitedly. "You haven't come to it in years! Where's Ed at?"

"He's over at the booth," Al told Winry. "Come on, I'll show you." He and Winry started walking through the crowds of people, keeping each other close by to prevent themselves from getting separated.

"You know, I'm worried about Ed," Winry suddenly confessed to Al. Al was silent for a moment before he answered.

"So am I," he said slowly, and Winry looked up at him in surprise. She had been expecting that either Al wouldn't see anything wrong with Ed or that he would have a perfectly reasonable explanation for Ed's behavior. "He's been acting funny for almost a whole year now," Al admitted.

"What qualifies as 'funny' for you?" Winry asked, and when Al looked down at her, she quickly explained, "It's just that you're around him much more than I am. I figured you would know more of the stuff he's doing."

"Oh," Al said. After a moment of thought he started listing off different things that Ed had started doing differently. "Well, he's been more touchy than he used to be, he really _hates _getting up in the morning, he's been muttering to himself, he _tried _to bake cookies once-"

"_Ed_ tried baking _cookies_?!" Winry laughed, Al nodded, deciding to keep the last behavior to himself. Winry collected herself, and then continued worriedly, "What happened to make him so upset?" she pondered, "I noticed that he was acting like this a little bit back when we found you on the docks in Goarhausen, but I thought he was just upset from being cut off from communications for so long." Winry was silent for a moment, trying to think of what could make Ed so upset as Al worriedly wrung his hands. So far Winry didn't know where the boys had _really_ disappeared off to, but Al didn't want her to find out just yet.

"I don't know," Winry finally shrugged. "I don't think I'll ever understand Ed. Maybe he's pregnant," she suggested with a laugh.

"Somehow, I don't think so," Al laughed.

"Are you sure?" Winry teased playfully, "Has he had any weird requests for food?"

"Oh my gosh, there was that time he wanted ice cream for breakfast!" Al gasped jokingly, and Winry laughed.

"No, I think that's the _normal _part of Ed," she chuckled, and Al joined in.

"He didn't bring anything!" they suddenly heard the familiar voice of Ed cry out. Al looked over the crowd and saw Ed pointing accusingly to a boy with short brown hair. Al sighed. Maybe Ed _was_ feeling better; he was starting to act like himself again.

The crowd of people clustered around Ed and Thomas started yelling at Thomas that he had to perform, and the skinny boy was quickly backed up against the stage nervously.

"Okay, I'll perform!" Thomas assured the crowd, who then burst into cheers. "I'll just need a minute to get my stuff together." The people around him nodded, agreeing that this was a reasonable request. Thomas sighed and then called out, "Ben! Get over here for a minute!" the small blond-haired boy quickly grabbed his turtle in one arm and hurried over to Thomas' side.

"I need to borrow your gloves," Thomas said softly to Ben. "Just for a minute."

"Are you going to do alchemy again?" Ben asked excitedly, making Ed and Al both look up from their spots at the back of the crowd curiously.

"Just a little bit," Thomas assured Ben as he pulled the gloves carefully off Ben's hands. "Now, be careful not to scratch yourself," he warned Ben.

"I know, I know," Ben sighed. "I'll be careful."

"Okay," Thomas smiled as he turned the gloves inside out and slid them onto his own hands. Ed could see from his position that they now had transmutation circles on them. Clever. Transmutation circles on the inside so that people wouldn't notice.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Thomas shouted as he quickly climbed onto the stage. "You are in for the performance of a lifetime! I have performed this show many times in different cities across the country! And because of the extreme kindness this city has shown us, I will now be performing it for you!" The people watching him burst into wild applause, but Ed stood still, waiting for the alchemy to begin.

"Now," Thomas said as he surveyed the crowd. "Are there any large pieces of wood around?" the crowd looked around quickly.

"There's some spare boards from building the stage right here!" one man shouted upwards.

"Excellent!" Thomas said happily. "If you would be so kind as to pass them up here." The man held the boards up to Thomas, who carefully took them. "These are just about the size I need," Thomas said as he approvingly looked over the boards. Each one was about half an arm's length. Thomas put all but one of the boards on the ground next to him.

"And now," he said, holding the board away from him. He raised the other hand and quickly snapped. "Let there be light!" he yelled, and the board caught fire like it was a torch. Ed rolled his eyes. He couldn't count how many times he had seen Roy do that, and this boy seemed to think he was so special.

"If you would please hold that for me," Thomas said as he held the board out to a man in the first row. He then lit two other boards, giving one to an audience member in front.

"Now," he said, motioning for the two people in front to give him his other torches. "It is one thing to light a piece of wood," he said as he carefully grabbed the other two in one hand, being careful not to burn anyone. He then threw them up in the air and started juggling them. His dark eyes were concentrating deeply, the bright flames reflecting in them. "But is another thing entirely," he said while keeping his gaze on the rotating torches, "To put. Them. Out!" he said, puffing on a torch with each word and extinguishing it. The crowd burst into cheers, and Thomas took a bow.

"For my next trick, I want you all to huddle in close together," Thomas told the people, who obediently knitted tightly together.

"That's it, don't be shy," Thomas said approvingly, motioning for them to get close together. "This trick will be a bit harder with all these stalls around, so I'm going to need all the space I can get." Ed nervously walked into the circle, finding himself between Al and Winry.

"That's it," Thomas muttered softly, and then snapped both his fingers simultaneously. A wall of fire surrounded the audience and the stage, its heat growing and stretching it upward until it formed a dome around the people.

"Is it hot in here, or is it just me?" Thomas asked the crowd, pulling uncomfortably at his collar. The crowd laughed, and then the dome quickly vanished. But a ring of charred grass remained on the ground around the people, looking unnaturally circular. Almost as if someone could go right in and start a huge transmutation circle, Ed thought silently to himself.

"I'm a bit tired today," Thomas told the crowd. "So I'll only perform one more trick for you today." The crowd groaned. "But I promise it will be a good trick!" Thomas assured the crowd, and they quickly perked up. "Now, I need a volunteer from the audience," he said as he scanned over the faces.

"I'll do it!" Winry quickly shouted, raising her hand high in the air. Ed and Al both turned to look at her with surprised looks on their faces.

"Excellent!" Thomas said happily. "Would you please come up here, Miss?" Winry carefully walked around the crowd and up to the stage, where Thomas held out a hand to help her up. He said something to her softly enough that no one could hear him, and Winry whispered something back.

"Okay, everyone, this is Winry," Thomas said. Winry smiled and waved slightly to the crowd. "I want you all to study Winry very carefully," he ordered, and the crowd leaned intently forward, staring at Winry's smiling face. "Memorize every detail you can," Thomas said as he began to pace up and down the stage. "I want you all to be able to picture Winry in your minds, accurate down to how many earrings she has in which ears."

Everyone quickly took note of how many earrings Winry had.

"Are you ready yet?" Thomas asked the crowd after a moment of silent concentration.

"Yes," a few people said softly, while the rest of the crowd nodded.

"Okay," Thomas said with a bit of excitement in his voice. "You can step down now," he told Winry, who carefully stepped off the stage. Thomas closed his eyes in concentration for a minute, and the crowd leaned forward in anticipation.

Thomas suddenly opened his eyes and snapped his fingers. A fire duplicate of Winry formed itself out of thin air, hovering slightly over the stage so it wouldn't burn the wood. The crowd carefully looked over the fire Winry for a minute.

Ed didn't want to admit it, but the fire Winry looked just like the real one. It was as if Winry was being covered in flames and eaten alive. (Not one of the most pleasant thoughts for Ed) Thomas had even made sure he got Winry's earrings right, since he had mentioned it. Four in her right ear, and two in her left.

"Does this look like Winry?" Thomas asked the crowd. After being greeted by silence, he yelled, "Let's get Miss Winry back up here!" Winry carefully climbed back onto the stage, getting as close to the fire version of herself as she could without getting hot.

"It looks just like her!" a man shouted, and the rest of the crowd roared their agreement.

"Ah, but can your Winry do this?" Thomas asked with a twinkle in his eye. The fire Winry suddenly broke into dance, making the crowd burst into laughter. Even Winry herself started laughing and clapping her hands to the imaginary tune as she watched the fire version of herself dance merrily around, still hovering a few inches above the stage. Then the fire Winry zoomed off into the sky as if she was Superman, and disappeared with a poof after flying a few feet away from the crowd.

The people turned back to look at Thomas and burst into applause. Thomas smiled at them and took a bow as Ed stared at the stage with a dumbstruck look on his face.

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Yay Thomas! I really did want to put more tricks in there, but it was getting kinda long. But I had loads of fun writing up Thomas' performance… And Kairi mentioned that in chap 23 I had Robyn looking out the window when SHE HAS NO EYES! Ergh. Okay, I really am sorry for that mistake, it was stupid. I should realize when my characters are BLIND or NOT. Raaah! It was late, and apparently I was tired. (I didn't think so at the time) On a side note, I now have the sign language alphabet memorized, so I can spell out messages with Ed! That is, if he ever shows up again… After stealing my computer to write a chapter he just kinda… disappeared… meeeep…


	2. Hail Storm

Hiya all you lovely peoples! I'm here again, ecstatic to be starting a new chapter. I really am excited about Thomas and Benjamin, my new characters. Especially Ben. (Not to pick favorites or anything…) But the thing about Ben's disorder (Not being able to feel pain) is that it really does exist. Really! I was watching Oprah one time, and there was this little girl on it that couldn't feel pain. She had to wear swimming goggles all the time because she kept poking her eye, and her parents were worried that she would make herself blind. So I made little Ben like her, except he's a boy instead. (Obviously)

**As you all know, AdventureAddict does not in any way own any part of Fullmetal Alchemist. **

On wit' da show!

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Chapter Two – Hail Storm

"How did you do that?" Ed asked Thomas when he walked over to Ben again.

"Practice," Thomas answered simply as he handed the gloves back to Ben. "I worked on making fire people for a year, just doing a little bit every day. And I still improve a little bit after every show."

"Do you think Colonel Mustang could do that?" Al asked his brother. Ed shrugged, unsure of Roy's talents now that he had seen Thomas perform.

"_Please_," Thomas laughed at Al's question. "Do you think that _Roy Mustang _would ever be concerned about beauty and details enough to make a person out of fire? For some people, alchemy is being able to snap your fingers and make stuff blow up, but for others, alchemy is a new kind of art form," Thomas told them. Ed could clearly tell that Thomas considered himself to be in the artist group. "It takes real guts and creativity to make something out of what most people would consider nothing."

"You're right," Al said suddenly. "When you were up there, it was like… magic," he said, unsure of a better word. "Even though I knew it was really alchemy. You just had so much passion and enthusiasm that I just got lost in the moment. You were really at home up on that stage."

"Thanks," Thomas said with a genuine smile. "I really do enjoy doing that. And I have other tricks too, but when fire people take a lot of energy, so I have to balance it out and do less tricks."

"It's nice to have a passion so early in life," Al said cheerfully. "You'll probably be able to get your show famous before you get old and be able to make a lot of money."

"Yeah," Thomas smiled. "But right now, every sen I make is going into a fund to help Ben." Ed glanced over at the boy. Ben was wearing his gloves again and was back to playing with the turtle Ed had made. He looked like a normal kid except for the goggles and gloves that were protecting him.

"You two seem pretty close," Ed commented, still watching Ben play. "Are you brothers?"

"Yeah," Thomas laughed, "But not biologically. We're both orphans. I found Ben on the streets one night and sort of adopted him. We haven't left each other's sides since." He paused and looked up at the sky through his sunglasses. "It looks like it might rain," he told them, noticing the dark clouds in the sky.

"Do you guys have somewhere to stay?" Winry asked worriedly.

"Nah," Thomas shook his head. "We're just going to catch a train out of here soon and start making our way back up to Central."

"Not going to stay for very long, are you?" Ed growled a little angrily, and Thomas looked back over at him.

"You're one to talk," he scoffed. "The Fullmetal Alchemist, never stays in one place for more than a week. And he gets mad at me for leaving his quaint little hometown in a hurry. You should know that some people have other things do with their life than sit around in a farm town. No offense," he added quickly to Winry.

"What? For saying we're a farm town?" she asked with a laugh. "It's what we are. It's why you left," she added to Ed. "You needed the opportunities of a big city, and we just don't have that here."

"Yeah, some people need the _opportunities _of a big city," Thomas smiled at Ed.

"How did you know who I was without me even telling you my name?" Ed asked suspiciously, and Thomas laughed.

"Look at yourself," he said, and Ed looked down at his clothes.

"So maybe I do stand out a little," Ed admitted, looking at the red coat, white gloves and the silver chain of his watch. Each one by itself on a kid his age might get a little suspicion, but he had all three.

"Are you kidding me?" Thomas laughed, putting a hand to the side of his face. "You're like a walking, flashing sign that says 'It's me, Edward Elric! Here I am! Come and get me!' Come on, every city I've gone to there's been at least a little talk of you, and everyone who talked about you mentioned that outfit."

"Great," Ed muttered, picking up a fold of his red jacket. "So you're saying that anybody who listens around could figure out who I am?"

"Very easily," Thomas agreed, making Ed curse under his breath. "What, are you saying you didn't know?" Thomas asked incredulously. "I thought you _wanted _people to notice you."

"I do," Ed admitted. "But not that much."

"Consider that the next time you go shopping for clothes," Thomas laughed. Suddenly something fell from the sky, making Thomas hold a hand to his head and look up.

"Oh great," Winry muttered softly, looking at the ground where the object had fallen. "Hail." Other people around them were also starting to notice, and were starting to panic loudly as more hail started falling to the ground.

"How far away is your house?" Thomas shouted, holding Ben protectively at his side. Ben had one arm over his head, and the other protectively clutching at his turtle.

"Not too far," Winry shouted back. "I think we can make it!"

"Then what are we standing around here for?" Ed shouted, and then turned and started running. Other people in the crowd had the same idea and were all running for the exit. After an instant moment of consideration, the other four Ed had left behind quickly followed after him.

The five of them ran through the grass to Winry's house, holding their hands over their heads. The hail was starting to get heavier, hitting them more often than before.

"Hey Ed," Thomas shouted over the roar of hail balls hitting the ground, "Hail is just ice, right?"

"Yeah," Ed shouted back, his coat whipping behind him as he ran. "Why?"

"Good. I was just checking. I have an idea," Thomas shouted back. He then turned to the small boy by his side. "Ben, give me your gloves!"

"But-"

"No buts, just give them to me!" Thomas shouted. Ben obediently lowered his arms quickly so he could pull off the gloves, handed them to Thomas, and then went back to protecting his head. He couldn't feel the pain of the hail striking his head, but he had learned that just because he couldn't feel different types of pain didn't mean it couldn't hurt him. Thomas quickly turned the gloves inside out, revealing the transmutation circles, and pulled them on his own hands.

None of the others could hear the snap over the hail, but they all knew it had happened when a large oval of fire started floating above them, melting any hail balls that came in contact with it. All of them except Thomas slowed to a stop and stared upwards.

"Don't stop running, I can't keep it up for long!" Thomas quickly shouted, and the others immediately resumed their original pace. Right before the flames had a chance to start destroying the Rockbell home, Thomas dropped the fire umbrella, and the five rushed inside.

"Hail? Since when do we get hail in Resembool?" Winry panted as she leaned up against the door.

"Hey Granny," Ed suddenly panted, distracting Winry out of her thoughts.

"So you two finally drag yourselves back here for the Harvest Festival and we have hail for the first time in years?" Granny said with a twinkle in her eye. "I suppose you're claiming that it's just a coincidence?"

"Nice to see you too," Ed replied, his eyes also twinkling with laughter, but his face not showing any signs of amusement.

"Guess we're not leaving on the train tonight, huh Ben?" Thomas said as he ruffled the younger boy's hair and listened to the hail dropping heavily against the ceiling.

"You might not be leaving by train for a long time," Ed told them, and Thomas looked over curiously. "Those hailstones were big. I'd say at least a half an inch diameter. Hailstones that big don't just leave bruises, they destroy buildings too. There's going to be a lot of work tomorrow." Thomas sighed, and the Ed suddenly looked over at Al. "Which reminds me – how are you doing, Al? A little beat up?"

"A little," Al said, looking down at his arms. Several large round dents were scattered randomly around the metal plates.

"Well, I guess that can't be helped," Ed sighed. "I'll fix you up tomorrow morning, okay? I'm really tired right now. Where do you want us, Win?" he asked with a slight yawn.

"How about you two take the room at the end of the hall, and Ben and Thomas can have the one next to it," Winry suggested after a moment of consideration.

"Okay," Ed said, now openly yawning and stretching out his arms. "You better get a good night's sleep," he told Thomas. "Anybody who knows alchemy is going to have to help out a lot tomorrow with the repair." And on that note, Ed walked off to the room he and Al would be staying in for a week.

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Ed was surprised to find the next morning that he had woken up without Al saying anything to him. He glanced out the window, and was greeted by a soft orange glow. Sunrise. He had woken up at sunrise without Al's help. He slowly sat up, and the bed creaked loudly beneath him.

"Brother? Are you awake?" Al asked, glancing up at the sound.

"Yeah," Ed said quickly. "I'm just going to go down and get a little breakfast," he explained. Al seemed to accept this for an answer and kept still as Ed got dressed. He knew that Ed didn't like it when he started acting like a mother hen.

After getting dressed, Ed looked Al over Al carefully and then clapped his hands together. The small dents disappeared with the flash of light, making Al look exactly like he had before. Ed looked over one more time to make sure he hadn't missed anything as Al said his 'Thank you.' Ed didn't need to hear it – he knew Al always appreciated it – but it was nice to know sometimes that he was still good for something.

"Hey Al?" Ed paused before walking out the door. "What's today's date?"

"Um… September… I think it's the eleventh," Al said slowly. "Why?"

"Just curious," Ed muttered, and then walked out the door, closing it behind him. He sighed and leaned up backwards against it, letting the hard wood press against his back.

September eleventh. The day that changed Robyn's life forever. No matter what he did, he could stop being reminded of Robyn. There were times that he almost wished he couldn't remember Robyn just so that he wouldn't have to deal with the pain. He slowly walked outside, forgetting about the breakfast he had told Al he was going to get.

First he checked the Rockbell house. There were a few dents in it, but certainly nothing he couldn't handle. Ed was glad that most of the hoses in Resembool were well built and could handle a little hail. After fixing the Rockbell home, he went down to the Harvest festival to check on the damage.

There was a lot more damage to the small booths scattered around the field. Most of the canopies had ripped from being pelted with hail, and many of the booths had a few boards that had gone out of place. Almost all the different things people had brought to the fair were on the ground, broken or not clean enough to be eaten anymore. Small hail balls were still scattered on the ground, small white dots against the dirt. Ed supposed that the hail had only stopped sometime this morning.

Ed sighed and slowly clapped his hands together. He would at least fix anything that had totally broken or ripped apart, like the canopies. The townspeople could hammer in the few out of place boards easily enough.

He slowly worked his way down the field until he came to stage. A small circle of ash still ran around the stage perfectly. It looked like something in one of those sci-fi movies that would beam you up to some aliens if you stepped in them.

Ed snorted at the thought and then jumped into the circle defiantly. No aliens, of course. Nothing. Not even a slight flicker of a beam.

"Hey, Ed. You're up bright and early." Ed spun around, only to find himself facing Thomas. Great. So the aliens had decided to come to him.

"What's that?" Thomas asked, pointing to Ed's neck. Ed quickly realized that he forgot to tuck Robyn's necklace under his shirt, and he hurriedly tried to hide it.

"None of your beeswax," Ed growled. "Just help me repair this place."

"I've already done most of the houses in town," Thomas told him triumphantly. "Though I suspect you would know if I missed any better than I would."

"I bet I would," Ed snarled back, clapping hands together and applying them to a torn canopy. Thomas had already put him in a bad mood, and he wasn't going to make any attempts to hide it.

"Um… One man died last night," Thomas said slowly, and Ed spun around to face him. "He couldn't see where he was going and he fell into the river. He ended up drowning."

"Who?" Ed demanded quickly.

"Mr. Koslowski," Thomas said slowly, bowing his head. Ed was taken aback by the name. Mrs. Koslowski's husband, the woman who always made sure he got a slice of her apple pie because she knew he loved it so much. And now her husband was dead.

"We only helped ourselves last night," Thomas muttered, staring down at the small hail balls on the ground. They were still frozen solid, thanks to the cold fall morning. "I could have made that fire for everybody and we could have all gotten to safety."

"And how much energy would that have taken?" Ed snorted, making Thomas look back up. Ed turned back to fixing the booth in front of him. "It's one thing to care about people after danger has passed and the situation is safe. But it takes a bit of practice to figure out a way to care for the whole town when staying in one place could get you seriously injured."

Ed continued to fix the booth as if he hadn't said anything important, but Thomas' face lit up slightly, and he slowly started helping Ed repair the booths, a new look of respect in his eyes.

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Yay! Okay, I want to thank you all for such a quick response on chap 1! I got 23 different e-mails yesterday that all had to do with fanfic! Okay, so 2 don't count because they were alerts that I had updated, but all the rest were you guys! Reviews, PMs, favs and alerts, they all added up to 23! That was really great, you all made my day! And' posting a lot too.. I just posted chap 1 yesterday! Boy, I have lot's more time to write in the summer… XD


	3. The Balance of Good and Evil

Well, here I am again. Writing yet another chap for all you peoples. I don't really mind though. I mean, why else would I be writing all this if I didn't enjoy it? That's be just crazy. Maybe if Kairi forced me… but because I like having this to kill time with, I do it of my own free will. I'm not being held captive by a bunch of fangirls, nooo… Well, maybe Beth, but she's not here right now… XD ANYwho…

**As you all know, AdventureAddict does not in any way own any part of Fullmetal Alchemist. **

On wit' da show!

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Chapter Three – The Balance of Good and Evil

_Robyn._

Ed let the word flutter through the breeze as he stood in the field silently, patiently waiting for her.

He knew he was dreaming, that was part of the beauty in it. He wasn't as scared of going to sleep as he used to be, because there was always the faint hope that he would have this dream again. He _knew_ she wasn't real. He _knew _nothing would bring her back. He'd learned that lesson all too well before. But he got comfort out of being able to pretend she was alive again, even if only for a moment, and even if he knew it was just his mind playing tricks on him.

_Ed!_

He looked up, and there she was, looking just like she did before she had gotten sick with that awful disease. The disease he had been stupid enough to pass onto her. She ran through the field of flowers towards him, and Ed did something that he knew he never did unless he was dreaming.

He smiled broadly and grabbed her in a hug as he twirled her in a circle, glad for the possibilities of dreams. Glad that he could wake up and no one would know that he hadn't acted like himself for a little while. Glad that he was free whenever he was in this dream with Robyn, even if only for a moment.

Robyn laughed and wrapped her arms tighter around his shoulders, letting her legs fly out behind her. After two quick spins, Ed stopped and put her down in front of him with a smile still stretched across his face. He looked her over, and the smile got bigger.

_You're beautiful. _

He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, and she blushed slightly. The light pink stain on her cheeks only made her prettier.

_Ed, let's stay here forever. Just us. _

She tugged at his heart, even though he already knew he couldn't stay. He wished he could just grab her and kiss her, hold her tight, but he knew that even in dreams he couldn't get too carried away. If he let that happen, he would be burning with desire for something he couldn't have during the day, and something he could only have an illusion of at night. He'd end up living more in his dreams than in the actual, real world, and he couldn't do that - he still had people depending on him.

_I can't, Robyn. Al needs me. _

_Don't you love me?_

Ed jerked back, hurt by the unexpected question. Tears started spilling down Robyn's face, and after a moment to collect himself, Ed quickly pulled her back into a hug.

_Of course._

Ed slowly rocked her back and forth, rubbing her back gently with one hand and muttering soothing comments into her hair. Her breathing eventually slowed, and she relaxed more against him.

_I wish you could stay. _

Her warm breath brushed against his neck, making small goosebumps travel down his arms. Ed smiled again, feeling the curve of her spine through her shirt.

_I wish I could too. _

Robyn sighed and wrapped her arms tighter around Ed. She repositioned her arms, and her finger brushed against Ed's braid. Ed could feel her wrap it around her finger, slowly uncurl it, and wrap it around again.

_What is it with you and my hair?_

_You were right. It did grow out again. Eventually. _

_You didn't answer the question. _

Ed pulled away from her to look at her face. She was smiling happily, and then she defiantly stuck out her tongue. Ed laughed with her, their voices echoing across the empty field. She was the same old Robyn, even if only a dream. Ed smiled and hugged her tightly again, and he could feel her burying her head in his shoulder.

_I'm sorry, Ed. _

_Sorry for what?_

_I'm so sorry…_

Ed wrapped his arms around her again as fresh tears started falling down her face. He couldn't understand why she was the one apologizing. After all, he was the one who hadn't been strong enough, who had given her that disease. He was the one who should be apologizing, he was the one who-

Oh.

Robyn was acting like _him._ She thought that nothing had gone right because of some fault of her own. So at least Ed knew how to attack the problem. He just had to say something that would make him feel better.

"It wasn't your fault." That one wouldn't work. How many times had he heard that and still felt bad? It was just too simple, too clear cut. It made him feel like the person couldn't possibly understand what he was feeling.

"You shouldn't put so much blame on yourself." No. That one was just stupid. It made him feel even worse because he would still feel guilty, and then he would feel guiltier because they just said he shouldn't, and he was stuck in a pool of guilt. What could he possibly say to Robyn to make her feel better? Her thin shoulders shook with more sobs, and Ed wrapped an arm around her to try and steady her. Then he suddenly thought of something to say, and he leaned in close to her ear.

_I'm proud of you. You suffered though a lot, and you did great even with the pain. You acted like a hero. _

Robyn looked up in surprise at him, and Ed tried to smile warmly back at her, though he was sure he had failed. This was getting way too complicated for a dream. He wasn't supposed to comfort crying girls even in his sleep. He and Robyn were supposed to just run happily through the fields. Ed wanted to forget about all the pain Robyn had suffered through.

_Robyn, you aren't a… a ghost, are you? _

Ed had heard of stories like that before. People who died before they had accomplished their goal in life and ended up haunting people they knew in knew in life until their goal was accomplished.

_You'd like that, wouldn't you, Edward?_

Robyn had an evil glint in her eyes. Ed took a step backward, startled by her reaction.

_You would want me to not really be dead just so you can try and bring me back again. Like your __**dear**__ brother. _

_Th-that-that's not true!_

Ed could feel himself stammering as he tripped backwards over a rock. Robyn smiled wickedly at him with a set of perfect teeth. An awful smile that Ed hated to remember, even though he could never seem to rid himself of it. Truth. He watched as Robyn slowly disappeared, and the familiar white form that was usually in his dreams took her place.

_It's not true! I learned my lesson the first time! I would never try to bring Robyn back! I-I-I-_

Ed could feel his whole body shaking and rocking back and forth as he softly whispered the sentence.

_I love her._

_Do you really love __**her**__? Or do you love the way you __**feel**__ around her? Not quite so burdened, perhaps?_

Ed looked up at Truth with wide eyes.

_No! I love her! I love her, I love her, I love her!_

Truth didn't say anything else, but just leaned in close to Ed's face and grinned those awful teeth at him again.

Ed woke up with a shout, bolting up in his bed as sweat poured down his face. Both his hands were clutching at the sheets, which were tangled around both his legs tightly. Ed slowly tried to steady his breaths and then stared unraveling himself from his cocoon.

"Brother, are you finally awake?" Al asked, poking his head in the door.

"Yes, Al, I'm awake," Ed sighed as he pulled himself out of the bed.

"Well, hurry up and come down to lunch," Al told him. "Everybody else is already eating."

"Already?" Ed asked in surprise as he quickly jumped into his pants.

"Yeah. Winry said she didn't want to wake you up because you looked so peaceful."

"Well, why didn't _you _wake me up?" Ed demanded, quickly pulling on a shirt and then reaching back to braid his hair.

"Well…" Al seemed uncomfortable by the question. "You were smiling in your sleep," he said slowly. "And I never see you smile anymore, Brother. So I figured it had to be a pretty good dream."

_Yeah, until it turned into a nightmare._ Ed thought to himself, but he didn't say it out loud.

"Okay, whatever," Ed muttered. "Let's just go." Al looked at Ed in surprise. Instead of the normal long sleeves, he was just wearing the black shirt that was usually hidden underneath, and he hadn't bothered to put shoes or socks on his feet. To put it simply, he had automail poking out in all sorts of places when he normally liked to keep it hidden.

"Uh… you do know that Thomas and Ben are still here, right, Brother?" Al asked nervously. "I thought that you wouldn't want them to know that you have automail."

"I don't care," Ed muttered, walking out into the hallway. "Someone here would probably tell them eventually anyway." And with that, he walked down to the kitchen with Al following curiously behind him.

Thomas and Winry were eating sandwiches and chatting softly at the table. As Ed walked into the room he could hear happy shrieks from outside. Apparently Ben was playing with some newfound friends.

"So where's Granny?" Ed asked, walking over to the counter and beginning to assemble his own sandwich. Al sat down in one of the empty chairs next to Winry.

"Well, good morning, sleepy head," Winry teased playfully. "She's in town getting some groceries." Ed slapped another slice of bread on top of his sandwich, and then walked over and sat down in the last empty chair. He hungrily took a bite out of it, and then looked up at Thomas, who was staring at him.

"Cool automail," Thomas said without bothering to look away and pretend that he hadn't been caught staring. "Who made it?"

"Me!" Winry said happily as Ed jabbed his thumb towards her. Ed silently rolled his eyes and took another bite of his sandwich. Thomas opened his mouth to comment just as Ben came inside with tears streaming down his face.

"I'm sorry Thomas," Ben sobbed as he walked over and showed him his scraped knee. He wasn't crying from pain, but from fear of how angry Thomas would be. "I-I didn't kn-know… a-a-and…"

"Shh," Thomas said softly, kneeling down and looking at the hurt knee. "It's okay, Ben. It's just a scrape. Let's go bandage it up, okay?" Ben nodded shakily, and Thomas led him off to the bathroom. Ed took another bite out of his sandwich.

"By the way, what type of sandwich is that, Ed?" Winry asked curiously.

"PB & J," Ed answered simply without looking up.

"You are such a kid sometimes!" Winry said, laughing at his answer. Ed scowled and took another bite out of his sandwich, maybe a little more viciously than before.

"Um… Ben left his turtle outside," a small boy said, standing nervously at the door. Al got up and gently took the turtle from the boy.

"Thank you for returning it," Al said kindly, but the boy trembled in the doorway. He then quickly turned around and ran back to his friends with one last terrified backward glance at Al.

"You give it to Ben," Al said sullenly, putting the turtle on the table in front of Ed. "I'll probably just scare him off."

"Oh come on, Al!" Ed sighed. "Do you really think that a kid whose favorite toy is a turtle with fangs and claws will be scared of you? Besides, that other kid didn't know you! That's why he was scared!" Al didn't say anything in reply, so Ed picked up the turtle with a sigh and walked off to the bathroom, leaving his half-finished sandwich behind.

T-H-I-S—IS—A—D-I-V-D-I-N-G—L-I-N-E

"Okay, you're all bandaged up," Thomas announced, rubbing Ben's hair. "You can go out and play with those boys some more now."

"I don't wanna," Ben said angrily, crossing his arms. "They always make me be the bad guy."

"Well, somebody's got to be the bad guy," Thomas said as he helped Ben to his feet again.

"Why?" Ben asked innocently. "Why can't the world just not have any bad guys?"

"You know, that's a good question," Thomas said, crouching down to look Ben in the eye. "Do you remember what I told you about Equivalent Exchange?"

"You have to give what you take," Ben answered automatically. He had been told about Equivalent Exchange too many times to count.

"More or less," Thomas laughed. "Now Ben, what would the world be like if it was always night?"

"It'd be hard to see," Ben said slowly, working out the answer in his head.

"Right," Thomas said approvingly. "Now, what would it be like if it was always daytime?"

"I'd get to play longer!" Ben said happily, excited by the thought.

"But it would also be hotter because the sun would stay in the sky all the time," Thomas reminded him. Ben's face fell, realizing that he wouldn't want to play outside all the time if it was too hot out. "It would also be harder to get to sleep," Thomas added. "And like it or not, you do need sleep. And it's not like at night it's completely dark or there's no darkness during the day, right? The moon and stars give us light at night, and there's shade during the day. Good and evil are like the light and dark. The good need evil to keep reminding them of what's good and bad, and the evil need the good in order to keep them under control. Do you understand?"

"I guess," Ben said slowly. "And the game wouldn't be any fun without evil people either."

"That works too," Thomas laughed. "Now go play." Ben excitedly opened the door and was greeted by Ed holding out the fierce turtle to him.

"Thank you!" Ben said excitedly as he grabbed the turtle and ran off in the direction of the front door. Thomas and Ed silently looked each other over for a minute.

"Not a word," Thomas said simply before turning and walking back to the kitchen.

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Yeah, I decided to go with the more manga-ish version of truth because I like it better when Ed can interact with Truth in his dreams and such… ANYwho… I was listening to some music while I was writing this (Which is actually a rare occurrence for me, believe it or not) and then all of a sudden I was like "Whoa! That would totally be the theme for The New Neighbors!" So… it's called "Dalalai" by a band called Bond. (They also have a song called "Fly Robin Fly." Coincidence?) They're all girls playing in an electric string quartet, and they're awesome! So if any of you find a chance to listen to it, I would love comments on it as a theme for New Neighbors. (Not that it will be an anime or anything. I just like the thought of them having a theme) Or if you have a different idea for a theme, I'd love to hear about that too! And Kairi, don't kill me for liking string quartets, even if they ARE electric. I didn't say Robyn had to like 'em, just me.


	4. A Deadly Sin

Okay, onto chap four! Extra special thanks this chap to Driven-To-Insanity for drawing a picture of Robyn and Ed! It was very cool and made my day when I saw that someone other than Kairi would actually take time to draw Robyn! (I expect it from Kairi. She's insane and helping with the story, so…) But I have yet to see any drawings of Thomas or Ben from anybody, including Kairi. I guess she's still mad at me for killing Robyn and spoiling the ending for her back at the beginning of the year. Sowweeee!!!!

**As you all know, AdventureAddict does not in any way own any part of Fullmetal Alchemist. **

On wit' da show!

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Chapter Four – A Deadly Sin

"Dammit!" Ed shouted suddenly, making both Winry and Al look up in surprise.

"You better be glad Ben isn't here," Thomas said coolly without looking up from his book. "I would beat you into a pulp if you started teaching him bad words."

"What's wrong, Brother?" Al asked worriedly.

"I forgot to get the damn wine for Mustang," Ed muttered, his hand pressed against his forehead.

"Well, we still got a few days, you can-"

""Naw, I'll get it tonight," **(1)** Ed muttered, waving away Al's suggestion with a wave of his wrist. "I need something to do anyway."

"But, Ed, it's raining out!" Winry quickly protested.

"_That_ is what I would classify as a _drizzle_," Ed countered, pointing out the window. "I'll be fine." And with that, he pulled on his gloves and walked outside.

"If he catches a cold, he'll only have himself to blame," Winry said, twisting her fingers around each other.

"Brother can be so…" Al paused for a moment, than settled on, "…_Brother _sometimes."

"Yeah," Winry agreed, defiantly thrusting her wrench into the toolbox by her side. "He hit the Terrible Twos and never outgrew them."

"Oh, would you both shut up!" Thomas finally said, closing his book with a slam. "_You're _the ones acting like kids. Wait until someone leaves the room before you start picking him apart piece by piece. You're like a pack of wolves!"

"That's not what I-" Al started, but Thomas quickly continued on his rant.

"If you two are so worried about him, then I'll go and find him if he's not home by a reasonable time. Okay?" Thomas asked, and the other two nodded meekly. "Well, now that that's settled," Thomas said in a softer voice as he settled back into the chair and reopened his book. "There wouldn't happen to be anymore hot chocolate, would there, Winry?"

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"I can take care of myself," Ed muttered under his breath as he walked down the street, a bottle of wine now cradled in one arm. "I can barely even feel this 'rain.' It's barely even a drizzle. More like a light misting. They think I can't take care of myself, but I can," He kept muttering as he walked, but then suddenly stopped and looked up at the sky angrily.

"I can take care of myself!" he shouted angrily, letting the wind carry his words away.

"Of course you can," a familiar voice said. Ed slowly turned to look down an ally in the direction it had come from. The silhouette looked familiar, but he didn't want to admit it. It couldn't be her. It wasn't possible. It went against everything he had learned his entire life.

"Why wouldn't you be able to take care of yourself?" Robyn asked with a smile as she stepped out from the shadows. Ed almost wanted to sink into the sidewalk, but he made sure he stood straight and tall.

"How are you alive?" Ed breathed as she stepped closer to him, closing the distance between them quickly. Her nose brushed against his, and Ed felt his eyes close as her hand found a spot on his waist.

"I missed you, Ed," she breathed into his ear, and then nuzzled her face into his neck.

"I missed you too," Ed sighed, giving in and wrapping his arms around her shoulders. He didn't know if this was another crazy dream, and frankly, he didn't care. At this moment in time Robyn felt so real. So what if this was another crazy fantasy? At least he could be happy for a few moments, unless it turned into another nightmare.

"I'd follow you anywhere, Ed," Robyn said soothingly, slowly changing positions until their hands were tangled together. She leaned in again, this time brushing her cheek against his. Ed sighed and smiled again, enjoying the moment.

"I love you," Ed whispered, but Robyn said nothing back. "Robyn?" he asked, turning to look at her head.

"So it seems the Fullmetal boy _does_ have a weakness," a different voice laughed, making Ed quickly jump away. Envy. He slowly let his hair grow down to the usual length and went back to his usual stomach-baring black clothes.

"You dirty cheating bastard!" Ed shouted angrily. "How do you know about Robyn?!"

"She would be a great help to us," Envy said coolly. "So we're trying to find out where she's run off to."

"Hate to break it to you, but she's dead," Ed blurted out, startling even himself. Dead. She was dead. So why couldn't he accept that and move on? It was done and over with, find something else to do.

"Aw," Envy pouted, taking the form of Robyn again. "That really hurts my feelings, Ed."

"Stop it!" Ed shouted, clapping his hands to his ears. "Shut up! Just shut up!"

"But Ed," Robyn pouted, putting her hands on his cheeks and rubbing her thumbs back and forth. "Don't you love me? Don't you want to be with me?"

_It's not Robyn. It's not Robyn. It's not Robyn. _Ed started chanting furiously in his head. _It's not Robyn. It's not Robyn. It's not Robyn. It's not Robyn._

"Ed, you said you love me," Robyn said, tears starting to roll down her cheeks. "I thought you cared about me."

Dammit! It was turning into another nightmare!

_It's not Robyn. It's not Robyn. It's not Robyn. It's not Robyn. It's not Robyn. It's not Robyn. It's not Robyn. It's not Robyn. It's not Robyn. It's not Robyn. It's not Robyn. It's not Robyn. It's not Robyn. It's not Robyn. It's not Robyn. It's not Robyn. It's not Robyn._

"It's not Robyn!" Ed shouted suddenly, finally letting the chant rip out through his lips to echo through the silent night. Envy suddenly backed away and went back to his normal form.

"_It's_ not Robyn?" he spat, looking Ed over furiously. "_It? _You've called me a lot of insults before, _pipsqueak, _but never _it_."

"I'm sick of these mind games, Envy!" Ed shouted back just as angrily. "Just leave me and Al alone!"

"Oh, you don't like mind games, _runt_?" Envy smirked evilly. "Just you wait, we're only getting started. Who shall I be next?" he said slowly, putting a finger to his chin in mock consideration. "Which shape would hurt the most? Your mother? Your brother? Perhaps that blond girl in the house?" With each suggestion he turned into that person, each one smiling an evil grin at Ed.

"Stop it!" Ed yelled furiously. "Leave them out of this!"

"Oh, but they are a part of your life, _half-pint_," Envy said with a smirk as he went back to his normal form again. "Therefore, they can never be completely 'out of it.' Now, where was I? Oh yes," he paused and turned back into Robyn. "making you cry for mercy. Or just cry."

"I don't think I'm physically capable of crying anymore," Ed spat, and then clapped his hands together, formed his automail into the usual blade, and shoved through Envy's middle.

"Haven't we been over this?" Envy sighed as Ed nearly choked at the sight of his blade going through Robyn's stomach. "I'm a homunculus. It's going to take a little more that," Envy said as he slid himself off Ed's blade. He brushed himself off, and then looked up at Ed, who was standing perfectly still with huge, horrified eyes.

"What?" Envy glanced, looking down at himself. "Oh. I get it. You don't like seeing your poor, dead girlfriend covered in _blood_." He sank to his knees and slapped his hand to his forehead like an actor dying in a Shakespearean play. "Oh, Edward! How could you do this to me?!" he cried, switching back to Robyn's voice. "What did I ever do to you?!" Suddenly, a rock flew out of nowhere and hit Envy directly in the center of the forehead.

"Ow," Envy said, putting a hand to his forehead as he stood up. Ed turned around to see Thomas standing behind him with an assortment of small rocks on one hand.

"Stop playing mind games, Envy," Thomas said boldly. "Leave him alone." He pulled another rock out of his hand and threw it at Envy, this time hitting him on the nose.

"Ow!" Envy said angrily, reaching up to rub his nose. "Okay, okay! I get it! I'll leave! Give a guy a break!" He started stomping angrily down the street, giving one last backward glance to Ed and Thomas.

"How much did you hear?" Ed asked slowly, almost afraid of the answer.

"'You don't like seeing your poor, dead girlfriend covered in blood' is about where I came in," Thomas said slowly, and Ed sighed. "Hey, we all have our past lives," Thomas quickly assured him, and noticing that Ed's shoulders still drooping, he cautiously asked, "Tough day?"

"Tough _week_," Ed sighed, looking up at the dark sky. "You- You won't tell Al and Winry about this, will you?"

"Not if you don't want me to," Thomas assured him softly. "I won't tell anybody if that's what you want."

"Do that," Ed suddenly said, snapping out of his thoughts.

"Hey, I'm just trying to be nice," Thomas snapped back. "I could running up to the house yelling 'Ed likes a dead girl! He can't even stab Envy without breaking down if he looks like her!' You want me to that instead?"

"Fine," Ed snapped back as he started walking up to the house. "I don't care."

"Come on, Ed," Thomas sighed as he started walking beside him. "Isn't it insulting the memory of this girl to say you 'don't care?'"

"Leave me alone," Ed fumed, quickening his pace.

"You're just saying that because you don't like hearing what I have to say," Thomas snapped back. "And someday, you're going to have to stand up and face the music. You can't run from the truth forever, Ed."

The Truth. Ed stopped in his tracks. Was that why he always slapped his hands over his ears and pretended he couldn't hear them. _The Philosopher's stone isn't made out of human lives, no. I'm not listening! La la la!_

At least that was what it had felt like to him. Back then he had wanted to run away, hide, do anything to get away, but where was running really taking him. He slowly turned to face Thomas, who had an all-knowing smirk on his face. Ed slowly curled his flesh fingers into a fist, and then swiftly punched Thomas in the face.

"Be glad that wasn't my automail," Ed growled angrily.

"Ow!" Thomas yelled, clutching both his hands to a now bleeding nose. "What did I do to deserve that?!"

"It's my Equivalent Exchange," Ed answered simply.

"Equivalent Exchange for what?!"

"For being a bossy know-it-all."

Thomas' eyes narrowed, and he quickly reached both hands towards Ed's neck. "Why you little-!" he growled angrily. **(2) **He was quickly rewarded with a swift punch to the stomach.

"I'm not 'Little,'" Ed growled. "I've had enough height insults tonight to last me for years. And besides, you're an inch shorter than me!" he added triumphantly.

"That's because you're wearing those tall platform shoes!" Thomas cried indignantly. "You'd be shorter than me if you wore normal shoes and didn't count the little static cling-on on the top of your head as part of your height!"

"Little static cling-on?!" Ed shouted back. "This is an antennae, and you would do well to remember it! And considering that it is a part of me, it counts toward my height!"

"Only because everyone else would be a giant compared to you if you didn't have it," Thomas muttered.

"That's it! You're a dead man!" Ed screeched lunging towards Thomas.

"Oo, I'm so scared. Where are all your other little ant friends to back you up?"

"Raaaaah!!!"

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**(1) **Naw. Hee hee. Ed really is a country bumpkin, ain't he?

**(2) **Didn't realize I was doing a Simpsons reference until later. Oops. Hee hee.

AdventureAddict: Well, that was fun wasn't it?

Ed: (punch) _That's _for acting as if you're my therapist.

AdventureAddict: Yeah, you're just an emotional wreck now, aren't cha?

Ed: (punch)

AdventureAddict: Well, anywho… I missed out on my chance to make Envy into something that me and Kairi were talking about before. It always made her get all misty-eyed. Then of course she would get angry with me for making her all misty-eyed. Well, hopefully I'll get to put it in later, since Envy is pretty angry with Ed now and has some blackmail… Though Kairi might not like it… Muahahaha…


	5. Mounting Suspcions

Yeah… I was having some itthueth (issues w/ lisp) with this one. It just kept feeling funny no matter what I did. So that's why it's a little later than previous chapters have been. Though 'late' is kinda relative, since it's summer and I'm just churning out chapters. If it was the school year, this would have been a _lot _later. So thanks to Kairi Angel and Agent000 for helping me work out the kinks!

**As you all know, AdventureAddict does not in any way own any part of Fullmetal Alchemist. **

On wit' da show!

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Chapter Five – Mounting Suspicions

"Quite a performance," Lust remarked dryly as Envy came in and leaned against the wall next to her. They were on a balcony of a building far from Resembool, but the lights of the small town could be seen in the distance. Lust was leaning up against the railing of the balcony, looking at the spot where she knew Envy had just been. "But did you have to aggravate the boy that much?"

"Oh come on," Envy sighed, crossing his arms. "I like seeing him get so worked up," he told her with a smirk. "Besides," he added seriously. "He pushed me, I pushed back. Gotta teach the kid _some _boundaries."

"Well, you didn't haveto teach him like _that_,"Lust countered back. "The way you were acting out there makes it look like you should be Lust and I should be Envy."

"I didn't know that Lust could get envious," Envy laughed. "If you want to have a go at the kid next time, then go ahead. But I doubt he'll respond to you in the same way he responded to me."

"I am not envious of you or the Fullmetal boy," Lust snapped back at Envy quickly, but Envy didn't seem at all intimidated by her reaction. "I just think you could have found a different way to find out if he knows the Davenport girl."

"Perhaps," Envy sighed. "But it wouldn't have been nearly as entertaining. I have so much more fun when he's in pain."

"Well maybe you should stop focusing on your personal needs and focus more on getting the job done," Lust said as she watched the flickering lights of the distant town. "We need that girl. And if she really is dead as Fullmetal claims…"

"I bet he was lying. I bet that the pipsqueak just doesn't want me to hurt his poor widdle girlfriend," Envy scowled as he crossed his arms. "He's probably hiding her somewhere."

"Well then, you'll just have to follow him and find this hiding place of his," Lust told him without even bothering to meet his gaze. She knew he would be gone before an hour was over. Envy grinned silently in the dark.

T-H-I-S—IS—A—D-I-V-D-I-N-G—L-I-N-E

"You're going to get me and Ben tickets to Central," Thomas announced the next morning as he walked down to the kitchen. A small bandage was on the bridge of his nose because of the fight he and Ed had last night.

Ed was the only one at the table since the other three had gone out for a walk. Ed had no clue why they wanted to go for a walk on a cool fall morning, but he suspected that Ben had talked them into it. Al would have been easy, Ben could have probably just asked him. Winry was probably a little harder, but she seemed to have taken a natural shine to Ben, so now Ed and Thomas were the only ones left home. Ed stayed because he didn't want to go on a walk, and Thomas stayed because he had been sleeping up until about five minutes ago.

"And why would I do that?" Ed asked uninterestedly as he continued to stare at the paper he had in his hands. He was sick of learning what some of the people in the country did with their free time, but he didn't like to be ignorant either, so he still read the paper every morning.

"Because if you don't, I will tell everyone you know about you, Envy and the girl with the black hair," Thomas smirked as he started to butter a piece of toast for his breakfast. He eyed the half-full pot of coffee, but then decided against it and started spreading strawberry jam on top in the buttered toast. **(1) **

"That's blackmail!" Ed said suddenly, looking up from the newspaper angrily. He hated Robyn being called 'The girl with the black hair,' when she was so much more than that, but he decided to focus on more pressing matters instead.

"Yeah, and your point is?"

"You can't do that! It- It's not fair!"

"Anything's fair in war," Thomas grinned as he finished with his toast and sat down at the table across from Ed. "Are you sure you really 'Don't care' if other people know?" Noticing the fuming look that Ed was giving him, he continued, "That's what you told me yesterday. 'Fine. I don't care.'"

"Alright," Ed growled, looking at Thomas angrily. "I'll get you a ride to Central. But then you are _so_ gone." He hated being blackmailed like this. Hated it down to the very depths of his bones, but it wasn't like he could do anything about it either. He didn't want people to find out about Robyn.

"Fair enough," Thomas shrugged with a bite of toast in his mouth. He carefully gripped the edges of the bread, bending it slightly and making sure that no jam spilled on his hands. "Just as long as someone else pays for the tickets. We don't have the money right now."

"Probably spent it all on booze," Ed mumbled, turning back to his newspaper.

"I did not!" Thomas snapped, and Ed looked back up at him with a surprised look on his face. He had never seen Thomas get so angry so quickly. But then again, it wasn't like he had known Thomas very long. "Every single sen I make goes into a fund to pay for any treatments a doctor might have for Ben!" Thomas yelled at him, but Ed narrowed his eyes distrustfully.

"_Every _single Sen?" Ed repeated doubtfully, and Thomas nodded, going back to eating his toast. It was almost as if he hadn't gotten angry at all. How could someone change emotions so quickly? "How do you get food?" Ed asked, his golden eyes narrowed down to tiny slits.

"Well, usually we find nice families that are willing to take us in for the night," Thomas shrugged. "And I have a few cans of food in my backpack just in case, but if neither of those work, then we just go hungry. And most of the time Ben's so cute that people offer to buy us train tickets. They usually feel pretty sorry for a kid like him."

"You're just surviving on the pity of people you meet?" Ed asked suspiciously, and Thomas nodded again. "So I'm the only one you've decided to blackmail?"

"I didn't find out any other secrets that were good enough for blackmail," Thomas sighed. "Nothing personal against you, Ed. You're just the first one I came across who had a dirty secret." **(2)**

"It's not 'dirty,'" Ed growled. "I once liked a girl, she died. End of story, I learned my lesson."

"And what lesson was that?" Thomas asked softly. "That it's wrong to like any girl because she could drop dead at any moment?" Ed glared at Thomas, but his left hand unconsciously reached into the pocket of his pants. Even with his glove on, he could still feel the worn edge of the picture Kari had given him back at the funeral.

"Like you know anything!" Ed snapped suddenly, letting go of the picture suddenly. "I bet you've never even had a girlfriend!"

"I got one waiting for me in my hometown," Thomas said smugly. Ed scowled at how the boy almost looked like a content cat sitting across from him, with his toast in one hand and that cheeky little grin on his face. It made Ed want to punch the guy in the jaw.

"Oh yeah? Where's that?" Ed asked quickly, trying to throw Thomas off.

"Down South. Little town called 'Wenninger,'" Thomas snapped back just as swiftly.

"What's her name?"

"Kristine Haines. She's an automail mechanic like Winry," Thomas told him. Both of them were now asking and answering questions as fast as they could, almost as if it were a game. "Except Winry seems like a normal girl compared to Sam."

"I doubt anyone's more insane than Winry," Ed said a little skeptically. Who could possibly be more insane than someone who first tells you to call before coming in and then throws a wrench at your head?

"I don't think so," Thomas laughed. "She finds it amusing to imitate the cackle of a witch. And you definitely never want to give her sugar."

"Whatever," Ed sighed as he turned back to his newspaper, giving up. Thomas sighed and rolled his eyes as he let a moment of silence pass between them. Ed's eyes quickly darted back and forth over an article about some lost boy.

…_Officials believe that a young man around the age of seventeen to twenty probably befriended the boy before kidnapping him. The young man may be…_

"Were you having bad dreams last night?" Thomas finally asked, and Ed looked up from the newspaper again with a sigh. At this rate, he would never get past the first page.

"Why do you care?" The truth was, he had been having another bad dream about his mom, but he wasn't about to admit that to Thomas.

"I was just having a bit of trouble sleeping last night," Thomas shrugged. "I could hear you talking in your sleep all the way from our room." Ed was silent, so Thomas decided to prove that he had really heard Ed. "'I'm sorry mom! I didn't know it would turn out this bad! I didn't mean to hurt you Al! I'm so sorry Al! I should have known the price we would pay! I'm sorry I hurt you!' What price?" Thomas asked Ed, who now had a slight layer of sweat coating his forehead. "What did you do to your brother, Ed?"

"Shut up!" Ed shouted, standing up and knocking his chair down with the movement. "You just shut up about things you know nothing about! You have no idea about the hell we've been through!"

"And you've no idea of the hell I've been through," Thomas said softly. "If you knew some of the stuff I've had to deal with, you'd-" he was cut off by the sudden reappearance of Ben, Al and Winry. Even this early in the morning, Ben still had his turtle with him.

"Thomas! Play with me!" Ben said excitedly as he ran over and started tugging on Thomas' sleeve. Thomas looked at Ed with stern glance, and then turned to Ben.

"Okay, okay," Thomas sighed with a smile, letting him be pulled away to the other room, even though his toast was only half-finished. Ed knew that the only toy Ben had was the small clay turtle Ed had made a few days ago, but both Thomas and Ben had huge imaginations, and would soon come up with some wild game. Maybe Thomas was telling the truth about putting all his money into a fund for Ben. He certainly hadn't spent any money on frivolous things like toys.

"Brother? What's bugging you?" Al said as he sat down in the seat across from Ed that Thomas had just got up from. Ed's eyebrows creased together in a frown as he looked at the door Thomas and Ben had just walked through.

"Huh?" Ed quickly snapped his eyes away from the room Thomas and Ben had just disappeared into and looked over at his younger brother.

"I know when you're thinking about something, Brother," Al told him. "And right now you look like you're thinking about something very hard."

"Have you oiled yourself recently, Al?" Ed asked, narrowing his eyes in the direction of his younger brother. Al was caught off guard by the sudden change of direction in the conversation, but he knew he should be used to it by now. That was one of the ways Ed tried to squirm out of topics he didn't like.

"It's on the floor behind you," Winry said from her spot by the stove. Ed could hear her scrambling eggs for her breakfast as Al reached down to grab the oilcan. Den gave a bark from his spot by one of the table legs as Al grabbed the small can and put it on the table.

"Winry? Could me and Al talk for a little bit?" Ed asked slowly.

"Sure, Ed," Winry said with a smile as she put her steaming scrambled eggs onto a plate. "You know, you don't have to ask for permission to talk." She turned around and sighed when she noticed Ed's glare directed towards her. "Oh, fine," she said with a roll to her eyes. "I'll be in my workroom. Come on Den!" she whistled to the dog under the table, who immediately perked up his ears and trotted after her.

"I need a rag," Al told his brother, who clapped his hands together and disconnected his left sleeve from his coat. "No, Brother, not your coat! I'll go get a proper rag from Winry!" Al insisted quickly, moving to stand up.

"Stay," Ed ordered sternly, and Al sat down again. Ed held the coat sleeve out to Al again. "We need to talk. I can clean and reattach it once you're done."

"Okay," Al said a little nervously as he took the red cloth and poured oil onto it. Ed was silent as he watched Al slowly start rubbing at his parts. Al almost wanted to ask Ed what it was they needed to talk about, but he knew his brother would say it once he was ready to talk, and not a moment sooner.

"What do you think of Thomas?" Ed finally barked at Al, who nearly dropped the coat sleeve in surprise.

"I- I like him," Al said with a slight stutter, not sure what it was Ed wanted to know.

"Don't you think it's a little suspicious that he wears sunglasses all the time?" Ed asked, his golden eyes narrowing distrustfully as he looked back towards the doorway to the room Thomas and Ben were in. "I mean, it's seven o'clock in the morning, and he's still wearing them." He looked back towards Al, who had stopped rubbing the cloth against his body. "Oil," Ed commanded firmly, and Al quickly started rubbing his chest plate again.

"I trust him Brother," Al finally said, pausing from his work to look up at Ed again. "If he wants to wear sunglasses all the time, then let him." Ed sighed and then glanced back down at the newspaper with a slight roll of his eyes.

…_Officials believe that a young man around the age of seventeen to twenty probably befriended the boy before kidnapping him. The young man may be…_

"What if he's this kidnapper?!" Ed shouted suddenly, jabbing his finger at the article. "What if Ben's the little boy he kidnapped and he wears sunglasses so that no one can identify him?!"

"Brother…" Al started, but was quickly cut off by Ed.

"I'm serious, Al! He could be some crazy kidnapper and you trust him!"

"Brother, look at the picture of the kidnapped boy," Al sighed. Ed glanced down at the picture of the boy in the newspaper. The picture of the little boy in the paper looked nothing like Ben. Ben was a happy, small boy with a mop of blond hair, but the boy in the picture had tidy dark hair accompanied by a scowling chubby face. Looking at the picture, Ed figured that the only reason someone would want to kidnap a child like that would be for the ransom. A kid like that probably had some rich family living in a mansion somewhere.

"Okay, so he's not a kidnapper," Ed admitted with a sigh. The boy in the picture reminded Ed a little too strongly of Dudley from Harry Potter. "But there are still weird things about him."

"Like what?" Al asked, cocking his head to one side, the red sleeve sitting in his motionless hand. He earned a stern glance from Ed, and then quickly started rubbing at his shoulder.

"Well," Ed paused, and then decided to tell Al about what had happened the other day. He had been considering lying to him about Envy, but he knew that Al would eventually find out and would then be angry with Ed for not telling him sooner. Al always found out when he was lying.

"Okay," Ed said softly, leaning in towards Al. his eyes flicked briefly towards the room where Thomas and Ben were, and then he continued in a soft whisper, "Envy was here yesterday."

"He wha-?!" Al yelled, jerking upwards. The red sleeve was now lying forgotten on the tabletop, but neither of the boys seemed to be paying any attention to it anymore.

"Shhh!" Ed hissed, motioning for him to get down again. He looked at the doorway to the room Thomas and Ben were in, and after no change, he turned back to Al. "I don't know where he is now, but he was in Resembool yesterday," he told Al softly.

"But… Why?" Al whispered back.

"Apparently the homunculi are looking for Robyn," Ed said as he ground his teeth together angrily. **(3)** He hated the thought of homunculi trying to get Robyn, even when he knew they wouldn't be able to find her. "He said that 'she would be a great help.'"

"But she's… She's…"

"She's dead. I know!" Ed snapped. He was sick of having that wound continuously reopened. He knew Robyn was dead, but that didn't mean that everyone had to keep bringing it up.

"So what does Envy have to do with Thomas?" Al asked, gently moving the subject away from Robyn.

"He came down and said 'stop playing mind games, Envy,'" Ed told Al triumphantly, even though he had noticed the slight change in the direction of the conversation. He was glad to get off the subject of Robyn.

"I don't get it," Al said after a slow minute of consideration. "What's the big deal with that?"

"What, you don't-?" Ed sighed. "He said _Envy_. And I know he didn't hear me call Envy that."

"So… What? You think he knows Envy somehow?" Al asked slowly. Ed nodded silently in reply. "That's ridiculous, Brother!"

"And just a little while ago we thought that the idea of a homunculus existing was ridiculous," Ed countered in reply. "I don't know what it is, but there's just something about Thomas I don't like. I know he's hiding _something_ from us. And now he's getting us to get him a ride to Central."

"And what's wrong with that?" Al asked innocently, making Ed heave a heavy sigh.

"I don't trust him, Al," Ed said, as if he was explaining to a four-year old. "There's just something about him that I don't like."

"Maybe you don't like him because he's so much like you," Al said, making Ed turn his head sharply to look at him. "Think about it, Brother," Al said slowly. "Thomas does have a bit of a temper at times, and he's sacrificing his own needs to try and help his younger brother-"

"He and Ben aren't brothers," Ed interrupted. "Thomas said so himself."

"They're close enough," Al retorted. "I've never seen people who weren't brothers act so much like brothers." Ed rolled his eyes at the comment, but Al still had one thing left to say. "And he even told me yesterday that he has a girlfriend who's an automail mechanic."

"Winry is _not_ my girlfriend!" Ed snapped at Al. "And you should know that better than anyone else!"

"I know that brother," Al said evenly, trying to calm Ed down. "But don't you see the similarities?"

"Yes, I do," Ed growled. "And that gives me all the more reason to suspect him."

"Brother…" Al sighed, putting a hand to his forehead exasperatedly.

"Come on, Al! Don't you see it?!" Ed cried out, forgetting about worrying if Ben and Thomas could hear him. "You're right, there are lots of similarities! Doesn't it seem a little… well, weird?"

"All I see are two people that I would like to get to know better," Al said as he stood up and tossed the sleeve back to Ed. "Maybe we could even be friends with them if you would stop thinking that you can't have any friends, Edward," he practically spat at his brother before he stormed off to Winry's room. Ed sat at the table with wide eyes. The only other time he had seen Al get that angry with him was back when he had fought Scar and had his arm destroyed. He knew Al was mad at him when he called him by his name instead of 'Brother.'

"Wait! Al! What did I do?!" Ed said, hurriedly standing up and following Al to Winry's workroom. He burst through the door rather loudly. Den was cowering in a corner of the room, and Winry was sitting in her chair silently as she looked at Al, her work lying forgotten over on the side. Al was sitting cross-legged in the center of the floor, looking up at Ed. Al normally couldn't betray his feelings very easily, but Ed knew he was angry by the way the eye sockets on his helmet were narrowed.

"What did I do wrong, Al?!" Ed demanded, making Den whimper from the corner. "Why are you so mad at me?!"

"I'm sick of not having any friends!" Al shouted, his voice echoing loudly through the empty armor. "I want to have people to fall back on! I want to come and visit Winry when your automail isn't broken for once! I thought that maybe you were changing a little when we met Robyn, but then one thing goes wrong and you practically have a mental breakdown!"

"One thing goes wrong?!" Ed shouted back angrily. "She _died_, Al!"

"She got _sick_, Ed! It happens to people!" Al shouted back, now jumping to his feet. Winry seemed frozen in her chair, staring up at the two with wide eyes.

"She wouldn't have got sick if it weren't for me!" Ed shouted, and Al sighed angrily, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Would you stop trying to blame everything on yourself?! She got sick with a disease that ended up killing her! How is that your fault?!"

"Because I'm a carrier of the disease," Ed said softly, his hands clenching into fists. He was looking at the ground, but he knew that Al was looking at him. "We made one of those blood pacts together, and the disease was transferred with blood. She was doomed as soon as my blood touched hers."

"But… you said that some guy tricked us here to kill Robyn's mom," Al said slowly, confused by Ed's confession.

"And how do you think he was planning on doing that, Al?!" Ed asked, snapping his head back up. "He tricked me and then he used me. And now Robyn's dead because I was too stupid and naïve. And I won't let anyone else die just because I was an idiot! Once is more than enough!"

"Brother…" Al started, but Ed turned around and stormed out of the room. At least he knew that Al wasn't angry with him anymore, since he had gone back to calling him 'Brother.' But now Ed was angry with himself instead.

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**(1)** May sound a little weird, but actually very good. I usually have it for breakfast now that we actually have strawberry jam. Or sometimes it just makes a nice snack.

**(2)** Kairi Angel: Way to sum up 25 chapters, Addict.

**(3)** You'll ruin your teeth if you keep that up, Ed!

Well, Agent000 suggested that I have more stuff _happen_ in this chapter, so I tried to accomplish that by having Ed and Al fight, but I'm sorry if there wasn't very much going on this chap. I'm planning on having them at the train in the next chap, so I figured this was the best place to cut off. Hopefully chapter 6 will come out a little more quickly! XD


	6. 100 Bottles of Milk

Kay. I'm working on it. And I would like to take this brief moment to give a round of applause to Bagel-chan, who finally managed to get herself an account on here so she could read it. Now I won't have to print out a gazillion pages just so she can read it on the first day of school:D Yay Bagel, you're saving trees!

**As you all know, AdventureAddict does not in any way own any part of Fullmetal Alchemist. **

On wit' da show!

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Chapter Six – 100 Bottles of Milk

"Ben, hurry up!" Thomas called from the front door. "We're going to miss the train!"

"I don't wanna go!" Ben shouted back angrily from his room. Thomas sighed and rolled his eyes impatiently. "I'm not coming! I'm going to stay with the Rockbells!" Thomas looked over at the Elric brothers and sent them a silent apology before turning back in the direction of Ben's room.

"Benjamin Jonas Rodlins, come down here right now!" Thomas shouted. He might have been wearing sunglasses over his eyes, but Ed had a feeling that he wouldn't want to see Thomas' eyes right now anyway. Ed shuddered as he remembered how terrifying Winry's eyes could get when she was mad. "You are not going to stay with the Rockbells!"

"Yes I am!" Ben shouted back defiantly. Ed thought he could almost hear a slight hint at tears as the young boy's voice carried down to them. "I'm sick of moving around and not having a home like normal kids!" Ed and Thomas both stiffened simultaneously, the words having struck a chord in both of them.

"You two go down to the train station," Thomas sighed as he looked over at Ed and Al. "Ben and I will catch up soon enough."

"And what if you don't?" Al asked concernedly.

"Well, then I guess we'll miss the train," Thomas said with a playful grin. "He just needs someone to… be there with him. We'll get there soon enough. And if we aren't there in time, then we'll just find someone else to get us train tickets." And with that, he bounded up to the room where Ben was.

"Come on," Ed said quickly, motioning for Al to follow him. But instead of going towards the front door like Thomas had told them to do, he headed in the same direction Thomas had gone.

"Brother, what are you doing?" Al asked. Ed didn't bother to look back as he continued to walk in the direction Thomas had disappeared.

"I want to hear what he's got to say," Ed muttered. Al sighed and slowly followed after him, doing his best not to make the armor clank loudly. They were soon standing in front of a solid wooden door with muted voices coming from behind it.

"Just go away and leave me alone!" the angry voice of Ben shouted from inside the room. "I hate you! Never ever talk to me again!"

"Robyn, are you okay?" Ed asked once they were safely inside. Robyn finally broke away from his grip and turned to him with an enraged expression on her face.

"_I hate you, Ed!" she screamed, tears starting to fall down her cheeks. She was too drunk to notice Ed take a step back as a hurt expression flashed across his face. "Why can't you ever just let me have some fun, damn it?!"_

"I'm not going to leave," Thomas said firmly, snapping Ed out of his memories quickly. Why did every other word people said seem to make him think about Robyn?

"GO AWAY!" Ben shouted again, this time followed by a loud crash. Ed winced as he heard what sounded like china shattering. He had a feeling that Ben had just broken the porcelain lamp in the room. Ed could then hear the patter of small footsteps and crying that seemed like it was being muffled by a pillow.

"What's wrong?" Ed could barely hear Thomas say as he pressed his ear against the door. Ben responded with some garbled response that he definitely couldn't make out. "You'll have to take your head out of the pillow," Thomas then said with a hint of a laugh in his voice.

"I just- just want Mo-om!" Ben repeated, his voice cracking a little with sobs. Ed could feel his hands clench a little, but he kept his ear pressed firmly against the door.

"Why would you want your mom?" Thomas asked, trying his best to make it sound gentle, but Ed could still catch a bit of anger in his voice. "The woman left you in the streets when you were only a few years old because she couldn't handle being a parent."

"Especially being a parent of a kid with a disorder that's so different," Ed added silently in his mind. 

"Not _that_ mom," Ben said quickly, sounding a little frustrated with Thomas. "My other mom. My guardian angel."

"I haven't heard about this before," Thomas said quietly after a moment of complete silence. "Who's this 'guardian angel' mother of yours?"

"I don't know," Ben admitted sheepishly. "But she was beautiful. And then she took my hand and led me to the park. And then I met you. I want to see her again. I bet that only angels have purple eyes."

Ed felt his throat constrict as he quickly backed away from the door. His eyes blurred and foggy, but he could still feel Al looking at him concernedly as he quickly turned and ran back down the hall.

It couldn't be her, it just couldn't! It's not like there weren't other people that had purple eyes. It was just a coincidence. It _had _to be. Because if Ben's "guardian angel" was really Robyn, then what was Ed supposed to believe? He couldn't possibly believe that her ghost was trying to help little boys with disorders because that was just too… unscientific. But if she wasn't a ghost, then what else was there? She couldn't possibly be alive – Ed had seen her die.

But at the same time, Ed desperately wanted to believe in something unscientific like ghost for once. What if he could see her one last time? What if-?

"Brother? Are you okay?" Ed could feel a large metal hand rest gently on his shoulder and looked up at Al.

"I'm fine, Al," he said quickly. "It's got to be a coincidence, right?" Al was silent, and Ed felt his confidence drop a little. A coincidence? Yeah, right. How many people had they ever met who had purple eyes? Robyn, Rosé, and the homunculi.

"I thought I saw Robyn once," Al said softly. "At the train station in Central. It was really crowded, and I thought I saw her smile and wave at me through the crowd, but then when I looked again, she was gone. I thought it was just my mind playing tricks on me. I didn't want to tell you because it just seemed silly."

"It was probably just Envy," Ed said softly. "he knows about Robyn and he's trying to get to us."

"Yeah," Al agreed gently, but in his mind he was thinking about how he didn't think Envy would ever be able to smile so sincerely.

"Come on, Ben," Thomas said from the direction of the room they had been in, and then Ed heard two sets of footsteps clomping loudly down the stairs. "If we don't hurry we'll miss the train! Ed and Al are already waiting for us-" he walked into the room where Ed and Al were both standing, and finished, "in the kitchen," with a surprised look on his face. "And we don't want to make them late, do we?"

Thomas quickly grabbed Ben's hand and hurried out the front door, giving the Elric brothers a strange look as he ran out. Ed sighed loudly, grabbed his suitcase, and quickly followed after the brown-haired boy, with Al close behind.

T-H-I-S—IS—A—D-I-V-D-I-N-G—L-I-N-E

"I'm _bored_..." Ben squirmed in his seat on the train. They had only been on the train for twenty minutes, but just like most kids his age, Ben found the train cool for a limited amount of time.

"Then find something to do," Thomas muttered, starting to fall asleep as his eyes became drowsy cat-like slits. Ed was sitting in the seat next to him, already snoring softly with his face pressed up against the window.

Ben and Al were sitting in the seat across from him, both wide awake, and in Ben's case, fidgety. Ben had ended up being the one to sit next to Al since he was the smallest of the group, and therefore, least likely to get squished. So far it seemed to be working well, despite all the space Ben kept taking up with his restless movements.

"Like what?" Ben groaned, but Thomas remained silent. "Thomas?" Ben said a little crossly, not appreciating being unheard. "Thomas!" Ben said angrily, reaching over and giving the boy a sharp poke in the knee. Thomas shifted a little in his seat, but didn't seem to notice.

"I think he's asleep," Al said gently, trying to get Ben to sit back in his seat. "Why don't we just leave the two of them alone and play a little go-fish?"

"Okay!" Ben said happily, brightening considerably at the thought of a game to play. Al sighed slightly, glad that Ed and/or Thomas wouldn't be shaken awake anytime soon.

After only one game of go fish, Ben was tired of the game and wanted to play something different that didn't involve cards. Al wished that the scenery outside was a little more exciting, but all there was past the window was farmland as far as the eye could see.

"Do you have any songs you like to sing?" Al asked exasperatedly. He had tried multiple suggestions of what to do, (including the "Quiet-as-a-mouse game) but Ben hadn't liked any of them so far. Ben was silent after Al's suggestion, and Al quickly tried to think of something else to do, assuming that Ben wouldn't want to do yet another of his suggestions.

"Yeah!" Ben said suddenly, surprising Al. "Thomas taught me some cool songs!"

"Well, why don't you sing some?" Al suggested, nearly sinking into his seat when Ben nodded enthusiastically. Al found himself wondering if he had ever been like this when he was Ben's age. The thought didn't last long however, since at that moment Ben began to sing.

"100 BOTTLES OF MILK ON THE WALL, 100 BOTTLES OF MILK! YOU TAKE ONE DOWN, PASS IT AROUND, 99 BOTTLES OF MILK ON THE WALL!"

Al was suddenly extremely grateful that there weren't too many people on the train at the time. The ones who were there all looked over at him though, the mothers smiling sympathetically, and the others scowling at him for letting Ben sing so loudly. Perhaps it was a good thing that Ed was sound asleep.

"99 BOTTLES OF MILK ON THE WALL, 99 BOTTLES OF MILK! YOU TAKE ONE DOWN, PASS IT AROUND, 98 BOTTLES OF MILK ON THE WALL!"

"What the hell?" Ed said suddenly, jerking up into a sitting position. Al sighed and hung his head. So perhaps Ed couldn't sleep through a tornado.

"98 BOTTLES OF MILK ON THE WALL, 98 BOTTLES OF MILK! YOU TAKE ONE DOWN, PASS IT AROUND, 97 BOTTLES OF MILK ON THE WALL!"

"It's his favorite song," Thomas mumbled sleepily, obviously not as out of it as Al had thought. Ed scowled and clapped his hands over his ears, realizing that Ben wouldn't stop until he reached the end of the song.

"97 BOTTLES OF MILK ON THE WALL, 97 BOTTLES OF MILK! YOU TAKE ONE DOWN, PASS IT AROUND, 96 BOTTLES OF MILK ON THE WALL!"

"It's going to be a long ride," Ed muttered under his breath, but no one was able to hear him over Ben's singing. "A long, _long_ ride."

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Yay! Done! And the "100 bottles of milk" thing? Yeah… one of my younger brothers (the Alphonse-ish one) and I were once waiting in a long line, so we actually started singing that. And we actually managed to finish it before we got to the front of the line too. And I had never done before. But then my younger brother thought of the brilliant idea of "ED CLAPS HIS HANDS, HITS THE WALL, 100 MORE BOTTLES OF MILK ON THE WALL!" then I was pretty much ready to shoot myself, but luckily we were at the front of the line and quickly forgot about the song. Yay.


	7. Nothing

Kairi Angel: Hai hai!

Ed: Crap! _She's_ back?

Kairi Angel: Hi Ed. :3

AdventureAddict: Hmm. This could prove to be interesting. Today we are watching a State Alchemist in its natural habitat.

Ed: What?! This isn't home! We are in a _white box_!

Kairi Angel: Crikey! He's angry, folks! Let's get closer and poke him!

Ed: Wha-? Stop it! I'll kill you all!

AdventureAddict: We must be careful. The trick is to grab the back of the neck, like this.

Ed: Raah! Stop that!

Kairi Angel: Never! –poke- -poke-

**As you all know, AdventureAddict does not in any way own any part of Fullmetal Alchemist. **

On wit' da show!

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Chapter Seven - Nothing

Robyn sat silently in Nothing, her knees curled up to her chest. She was scared. Nothing was so blank, so empty, devoid of even sound except when she or the satanic demon child (aka The Truth) decided to speak.

"Haven't I stayed here long enough?" Robyn asked softly, her voice rippling strangely through Nothing. "Please, just let me go." She didn't even care if she was headed away from her world – or life - anymore. Anywhere other than Nothing had to be better.

"You are not dead," Truth told her simply. Robyn couldn't actually see him, but she knew it was his voice. "But you are not alive either. So you will stay here with the others until the one person who is meant to retrieve you comes."

"Others?!" Robyn repeated in shock. She had been here for who knows how long and there were others? "Who?! Where?!" she demanded, rising to her feet. She stayed in that position until she realized that Truth was not going to answer her, and then she slumped back on the floor with a sigh.

"Not dead… But not alive…" Robyn muttered to herself. Who could possibly be here that didn't fit under the category of dead or alive?

"Duh!" Robyn said suddenly, smacking her forehead with the heel or her palm. "I'm a real idiot sometimes. Al!? Alphonse Elric, are you here?!"

"Robyn!? Robyn, is that you?!" a voice called out faintly in the distance. Robyn grinned to herself.

"Keep calling out, Al, or otherwise I can't tell where you are!"

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of walking, Robyn spotted the small figure through the Nothing. She broke into a light jog, wondering distantly how Nothing could act almost like a fog.

She almost lost all hope when she finally saw Al. His hair had grown into a wild mane of hair over the years, dark circles darkened the space under his eyes, his skin was pale enough to show red and blue veins going up and down his arms, and he looked skinny enough to be anorexic. Years in Nothing had not done him any favors. Robyn suppressed a shudder as she thought of Gollum from Lord of the Rings, **(1)** and sat down next to Al.

"So… this is you…" Robyn began hesitantly, very confused, "But the armor you is also you?"

"Yes," Al smiled weakly. "But I don't think the armor me knows this part of me. And I don't think I'll remember this once I'm back to normal."

"Oh," Robyn said softly, still not understanding very clearly. "And is this 'one person meant to retrieve you' also true?"

"I think so," Al said slowly, carefully thinking over his answer. "I think that I have to come for myself. I don't think Brother can do it for me, no matter how much he wants to."

"I guess that makes sense," Robyn mused. "I wonder who will come for me."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually," Al said kindly. Robyn smiled at him gratefully, and then they were both lost in their own thoughts.

"What made me so special to you?" a soft voice whispered, echoing through the stillness. "What was it about me that you liked? I just can't see it." **(2) **

"Did you hear that?" Robyn asked, suddenly jerking her head up. Al looked over at her with a curious stare on his face. "I just heard Ed, I know it!"

"I hear Brother sometimes too," Al said softly. "He's always apologizing."

"Oh," Robyn pressed her head against her knees again. "I suppose you can only hear things concerning you." She fell silent again, and slowly realized that tears were softly falling down her face.

"I liked your smile," she whispered into her knees. She had a feeling that Al could hear her anyway, but she didn't care. "Your smiles were better than anyone else's when they were actually sincere and not just cocky. And your endurance always made me admire you. Not just physical, but emotional too. Your devotion to family, your ability to concentrate on things – well, when you want to – the way you can listen to me even when I'm babbling, your genuine sympathy, the fact that you have good morals and stick to them, your… passion. Passion for everything. There's a lot of good things about you Ed, you just need to be able to see them for yourself. And there's more, I know it, I just can't list them off the top of my head."

"Passion for everything," Al repeated softly, smiling to himself. "That's Brother, all right." Robyn nodded, more tears flowing down her cheeks.

T-H-I-S—IS—A--D-I-V-D-I-N-G--L-I-N-E

Ed yawned and cracked his eyes open slowly, only to hiss and immediately shut them again. He had fallen asleep on the train, facing towards the window, which had led to bright sunlight streaming straight into his eyes.

"Damn sun," Ed muttered as he rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hand. "Always so damn bright and cheerful."

"Just like you?" a cheerful female voice suggested from the seat across from him. Ed sighed, then rolled his head to the side and looked at the owner of the voice through slit eyes.

"Go away Envy," Ed sighed, before turning his head back and closing his eyes again. "Fool me once, you're a bastard. Fool me twice, you're a bastard with a death wish."

"Isn't it 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me?'" Robyn asked with a slight grin. "Not that I don't like your version, of course. But what's Envy got to do with it?"

"As if you don't know," Ed scoffed. "You're disguising yourself as Robyn in order to get to me. It's not like you can even say anything that only Robyn would know anyway," he said before glancing over with a look that would have been a normal scowl for anyone except Robyn or Al, who he knew would have been to see the challenge in the glint of his eyes. Robyn leaned forward with a slight smile and rested her elbows on her knees.

"Okay Sunshine," she grinned and then sang softly, "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands," Ed scowled slightly at the memory. "Is that enough, or do you want more? 'Cuz I can keep going if that's what you want." Ed was at a loss for words, but only for about two seconds.

"Okay, but even if you're not Envy, you still can't prove that you're not a dream," he said, quickly regaining his composure.

"True," Robyn smiled. "And I can't prove I'm not a ghost either, but I doubt you'd ever believe something as crazy as that."

"I don't know," Ed muttered. "With all the weird stuff that's been happening to me, I might just start believing in ghosts."

Robyn smiled again and then suddenly reached over and patted his left knee sympathetically. Ed sighed before reaching down and patting her hand in reply. This had to be a dream. Since when did Robyn pat knees? Robyn straightened again, and Ed practically did a double take when he noticed what he hadn't before.

"Robyn?" he said slowly, "Are you wearing… lip gloss?" He wondered how he hadn't noticed it before. Her lips were shining slightly in the light of the train, as if she was trying to tempt Ed into kissing her. Her lips just looked so much softer and more… well, _kissable_.

"And a little eye shadow," Robyn laughed. Ed quickly looked and noticed that there was a slight lilac hint to her eyelids. And the biggest change of all was the fact that she wasn't wearing eyeliner. Ed felt himself smile slightly. It was pretty. Her makeup was much more natural and not as overdone as many girls liked to do. And while Ed knew that she looked nice without any make-up at all, the lip gloss and eye shadow did add a nice touch.

"I guess I found out that being a girl wasn't as bad as I thought it was," Robyn said softly. Ed nodded and found himself looking at the clothes she was wearing. While she was still wearing a long sleeve shirt and pants, he realized that they were a much tighter fitting set of clothes. For once it actually looked like Robyn was wearing girl clothing, even if it wasn't a skirt or a dress. Ed blushed as he realized that her clothes were showing a lot more curves than he was used to with Robyn. True, not as many curves as Winry, and definitely not as prominently displayed, but there were curves there all the same.

"Ed, are you okay?" Robyn asked curiously, her head cocked to one side. Ed could practically feel the steam rolling off his face as he snapped his head back up to look at her face.

"I…um…make-up…you…you…look like…" Ed's eyes widened in panic as he realized that he wasn't able to string words together anymore. "Pretty girl," he finished feebly.

"What, you didn't think I was pretty before?" Robyn asked him with a playful gleam in her eyes.

"No!" Ed said quickly, and then threw together his best attempt at an actual sentence. "It's just that… you… you… you've changed."

"It happens," Robyn said with a grin. "But if it makes you feel better, I think you grew since the last time I saw you, while I have stayed at the same height since fifth grade."

"Yippee," Ed said weakly, but then stopped when he suddenly realized something. "Shit! Winry didn't make any adjustments to my leg!"

"Well, right now it's a little late to go back and have her check it," Robyn commented as she looked out the window at the scenery rushing past. "But you should probably get that examined soon, or it could lead to problems."

"I know," Ed muttered gloomily, and then a tense silence settled over them. There were so many questions Ed wanted to ask, but he just couldn't bring himself to ask them.

"Robyn?" he finally said slowly. Robyn stopped looking out the window and looked back at him, her violet eyes sparking with interest. "You're either a dream or a ghost," he started slowly, "Either way, you probably know some of the stuff that's going on, so… what do _you_ think of Thomas?"

"I think he's a good person deep down," she said after a moment of consideration. "Of course, he does seem to have some kind of past that he's hiding from you, but I think that he's really a good person when you get to know him, kind of like you." Ed nodded, much more satisfied with her answer than he had been with Al's. Unlike Al, Robyn had actually admitted that Thomas was probably hiding something from them, but she had also said that she thought he was good, so he would trust Thomas because he trusted Robyn's judgment.

"So did you come here to advise me on some choice I'm about to make?" Ed asked suddenly.

"I guess I mostly came since you seemed a little lonely," Robyn admitted with a small smile. "Do you really want some advice or something?"

"I guess," Ed shrugged. Did he really seem that 'lonely' to people? He hadn't really thought so before, but if Robyn had noticed it and she was some dream, then some part of him deep down had really known, right? Had Al figured that out? It had seemed like Al had been hovering around him a lot recently, but Ed had thought that was just Al being Al.

"Okay, I got it," Robyn finally said, and Ed momentarily forgot his worries to listen to her. "And your advice is," she said in a fake imitation of a mystical gypsy's voice, but then snapped her head up suddenly and gave Ed a stern look before saying, "Lighten up!"

"Huh?"

"You heard me," Robyn snapped back. "That's my advice. Edward Elric, you need to lighten up. Stop blaming yourself for every little thing that goes wrong and have a little fun now and then. Smile, and you'll find that most people will smile with you." She then stared at Ed until he finally looked down at his knees.

"Good," Robyn said as she pushed herself up off the seat. "And now it's time for me to leave. I have cellos to burn."

"What?" Ed snapped his head back up to stare at her. Had he heard that right?

"I have cellos to burn," Robyn repeated with a slight laugh. "I think I read it in a fanfic once. **(3) **And Ed?"

"Yeah?"

Robyn paused and bit her lip, as if trying to decide whether or not to say something, but then sighed and said simply, "Nice necklace."

Ed grinned and absently rubbed a pick between his fingers. When he looked up again, Robyn was gone. Ed sighed inwardly. It was just a stupid dream or hallucination or something, so it meant nothing.

Right?

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**(1) **Google image search Gollum if you don't know who that it. You'll get a general idea of what I mean. ;)

**(2) **See Chapter 24 in New Neighbors if you don't remember that. It's in there!

**(3) **The brilliant comedy of Carma. Yes, that's really in a fanfic, I just haven't found the time to type it up and post it. It's actually a story being passed between me and three other friends. (waves at Bagel-chan) :D

Kairi Angel: Your fans missed me. I'm so loved.

Ed: –kick- No, you're not!

AdventureAddict: I can't believe how much I learned about Ed's personality since I last did these notes!

Kairi Angel: Ow… that was the left one… hey, I think I'm bleeding.

Ed: What? Cra- -gets kicked in the head-

Kairi Angel: See you next time:3

AdventureAddict: You sound like those shows I used to watch when I was, like, five.

Kairi Angel: What do you expect? Swearing? Sex? Death?

Ed: Death? Death of who?

Kairi Angel: You'll see…

AdventureAddict: ATOMIC MASSACRE!!! BA-BOOM!!! Muahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Kairi Angel: You killed all your fans.


	8. Demons

AdventureAddict: Hello, "Ol' hardass."

Ed: Wha-?

AdventureAddict: Isn't history fun? XD

Kairi Angel: Indeed. –sips her tea-

AdventureAddict: And now for something completely different. Ed, bring us some crumpets to go with our tea!

Kairi Angel: And some soda.

AdventureAddict: And pocky.

Ed: No! I'm not a maid!

Kairi Angel: -gets mikuru's outfit and throws it on Ed- You were saying?

AdventureAddict: -whimper- Ed's wearing a dress! A _maid _dress!

Ed: I'LL KILL YOU ALL!!!

Kairi Angel: Haruhi'll kill you if you rip that dress.

**As you all know, AdventureAddict does not in any way own any part of Fullmetal Alchemist. **

On wit' da show!

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Chapter Eight – Demons

"Is he dead?" a small voice asked curiously. Ed didn't want to open his eyes. He had been having a good dream, he knew that much, he just couldn't remember what it had been about.

"He's not dead," he Al assured the boy gently. "Brother just sleeps really, really soundly sometimes."

"Can I poke him?"

"No," Ed muttered, rolling over onto his side and opening his eyes. Ben sighed and slouched in the seat across from him. Ed felt his eyebrows scrunch together as he tried to remember the dream he had been having a second time. It was a good dream, and he didn't have good dreams very often.

"Hey, you're in my spot," another voice said. Ed tilted his head backwards and found himself looking upwards into the face of Thomas. He then sighed and pushed himself up into a sitting position, leaving the other half of the seat for Thomas as he continued to try and remember his dream.

"I couldn't find any food Ben, sorry. How'd you enjoy your tour of the engine room?" Thomas asked, not even noticing the confused frown on Ed's face. Ben grinned up at Thomas eagerly and swung his legs back and forth a few times.

"It was so cool! They even let me blow the whistle a few times!" Ben told Thomas excitedly. Thomas grinned at him and then turned to Ed.

"Hey, do you think it'd be alright if we got off at the next stop for a few minutes?" he asked, making Ed look up at him, unhappy about having his thoughts disturbed. "It won't take long, I just want to call Kris and let her know I'm alright, and-"

"No. We can't waste any more time," Ed interrupted. "That hail storm delayed us enough."

"But-"

"Do you want a free train ride or not?" Ed snapped back angrily. Thomas scowled at him in reply, and then rested his elbow on the arm of the seat.

"Jeez," he mumbled into the palm of his hand. "Lighten up." Ed stiffened. Why had he just gotten the weirdest feeling of déjà vu?

"What?"

"You heard me," Thomas snapped back angrily. "Lighten up!" That was it! Ed suddenly remembered the dream he had been having before Ben had woken him up. It had been another dream of Robyn, she had been sitting in the same seat that Ben and Al were sitting in now, and she had even given him advice when he had said he wanted it.

"_Lighten up!" _

"_Huh?" _

"_You heard me. That's my advice. Edward Elric, you need to lighten up. Stop blaming yourself for every little thing that goes wrong and have a little fun now and then. Smile, and you'll find that most people will smile with you."_

Ed looked at Thomas again, more curiously this time. He had just said almost the exact same conversation Ed had just had with Robyn – _in a dream._ And there was definitely _something_ about Thomas.

"Take off the sunglasses," Ed commanded abruptly.

"Eh?!" Thomas looked up with a sudden, bewildered look.

"Take them off," Ed repeated, practically growling this time.

"No!"

"Then what color are your eyes?!" Ed demanded. Al seemed to catch on at this point and quickly stood up just in time to grab Ed around the waist as he lunged at Thomas.

"What's your problem?!" Thomas yelled, holding an arm up to protect himself as Ed reached furiously for his sunglasses.

"Stop it, Brother!" Al yelled, knowing that people on the train were staring at them. "He's not Robyn! Stop it!"

"Then why's he so scared of letting us see his eyes?!" Ed shot back angrily and then focused back on trying to pry the sunglasses off Thomas. Ben sat on the other seat, looking rather confused at the whole ordeal.

Thomas finally let his guard down for just one second, and in that second, Ed managed to grab the boy's sunglasses and rip them off. Both Ed and Al fell silent in the brief flash they saw Thomas' eyes, and then Thomas quickly turned away from them, shielding his face with his hand.

"Thomas?" Al asked softly as he set Ed back down and looked at the brown-haired boy curiously. Thomas remained perfectly still, keeping his head buried in his knees and hidden from the two brothers.

"Don't look at me," Thomas muttered softly, his voice muffled. "I'm a monster."

"Well, I haven't ever seen anything like that before," Al said slowly. "But I hardly think that qualifies you as a monster." Thomas slowly picked up his head and looked at them again, his right eye a blood red and his left eye as black as ink.

"It's what I've been called for most of my life," he said slowly, looking steadily at them. Ed found himself wanting to turn away and not look at such weird eyes, but he controlled himself. He knew he how he felt when people were repulsed by his automail, and he had a feeling that Thomas felt the same way about his eyes.

"Nobody even bothered to learn my name when I was a child," Thomas continued softly. "I was always just Demon Child."

That's cruel!" Al exclaimed suddenly. Ed looked up at him sadly, realizing that Al probably knew all about what it was like to be called 'Demon Child.'

"Maybe it was," Thomas said slowly, "But that didn't stop them from doing it. Besides… maybe I am some sort of demon, some hideous monster."

"No you're not!" Ben said suddenly, then ran up and wrapped his arms around one of Thomas' legs. "I think your eyes are cool!"

"Thanks," Thomas said softly. He then looked back at Ed, who was still staring at him rather curiously. "Could I have my glasses back now?" he asked timidly.

"Why? We all know about your eyes now," Ed said stubbornly, ignoring the sigh from Al next to him. "And we're all fine with it, so you can go around without sunglasses."

"Then you can go around without gloves and long sleeves," Thomas countered. "Please? They make me feel better." Ed rubbed the thumb and pointer finger on his right hand together before sighing and handing the sunglasses to Thomas just as the train ground to a stop.

"Come on," Ed sighed, moving towards the door. When Thomas and Al both shot him confused looks, he quickly clarified, "Well, you wanted to call that girlfriend of yours, didn't you. Hurry up." He then walked off, leaving a very confused Thomas to stare at Al.

"I think you just gained some respect with Brother," Al tried to explain. "I think he can relate with you better now."

T-H-I-S—IS—A--D-I-V-D-I-N-G--L-I-N-E

"YOU JERK! WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL SOONER?! WHY ARE YOU CALLING NOW?!" Ed winced as he heard the angry female voice blast through the phone.

"I'm sorry, Kris," Thomas said calmly. "Look, it's not what it seems, alright? Yeah… yeah… just wanted to check in, you know?" He grinned into the mouthpiece as Kris said something else that Ed couldn't hear. "We're just stopping for a minute… uh-huh… yeah, we met some nice kids in the last town. They actually managed to get us tickets to Central." Ed winced again as he heard a long, loud scream emit from the phone. He could tell it wasn't an angry scream, but instead a very, very happy one. When it finally stopped, Thomas held the phone to his ear again.

"Yeah, I know… Sure… I'll call you right after we see the doctor in Central, okay? Okay," he laughed and looked over at the Elrics again. "Hey, say hi to everyone else for me, okay?" he added hastily. "No, I can't talk to them right now… look, Kris we're kind of in a hurry… okay… we'll be back soon."

"YOU'D BETTER!" Thomas grinned as he heard the dial tone start again.

"It's nice to feel loved," he laughed. Al seemed surprised for a minute, but then started laughing with Thomas. After all, it was practically the same way with Winry. Ed, meanwhile, had tuned out of the conversation as soon as he had seen a flash of white among the crowd. Could it possibly be…?

Ed easily slipped away from the other three and then ducked and darted between people. He heard a complaint or two about a foot being stepped on, but he ignored them and kept moving forward. And then he finally spotted him.

"BASTARD!" Ed shouted out loudly. Surprisingly, at least half the people in the train station turned around, but the only one Ed felt like he could see was the man in the white suit. The man spun around quickly, and after noticing Ed, ran up to the blond boy eagerly.

"You made it back! It worked! Where is my beloved Elisabeth?" he asked quickly. Ed just reached out and swiftly punched the man in the jaw.

"Your 'beloved Elisabeth' is dead," Ed said coldly. "She had been dead for about five years when you sent me to her world. And now, thanks to you, her only daughter is also dead." The man looked up at Ed in shock, holding a hand to his quickly swelling cheek.

"What? She can't be- No- I made sure everything was perfect-" E scowled and punched the man again, this time on the other side of his jaw. The man fell to his knees and stayed there, not bothering with the effort of getting up.

"Obviously not perfect enough," Ed growled. "Elisabeth 'Mustang' Davenport had died years before I arrived and then you," he spat and kicked the man's side. "You put that damn disease in my body and killed Robyn! You killed her! You bastard, you murdered her!" he kept kicking the man, who made no attempt to get up or fight back. Ed could feel the rage that had been building inside him come pouring out as he beat the man up. He hadn't felt anger like this since he had found the secret behind Tucker's chimeras.

"Brother, you'll kill him," a voice said softly beside him. He felt a pair or large metal hands grab him and gently pull him away from the bleeding lump that had once been a man.

"Do you thin I give a damn?!?" Ed screeched angrily as he writhed against Al's grip. "He murdered Robyn! That bastard deserves to die!"

"Please, Brother. He's too low for you to even waste energy on. Let's just go." Ed sighed and relaxed in Al's arms, but as one last insult, bent forward and spit on the man.

"You are scum," Ed ground out angrily. "I respect shit more than I respect you." He then spun around and stormed back onto the train with everyone in the station watching.

"So you really hate that guy, huh?" Thomas asked casually once the train had started moving again. Ed sat huddled up against the window, his knees curled up to his chest. Al was sitting in the seat across from him, looking worriedly at his brother every few seconds.

"No shit."

Ed looked up quickly when he felt a fist come in contact with his skull solidly.

"What the hell was that for?!"

"Stop swearing in front of Ben," Thomas said coolly. He then turned to Ben and said quickly, "Shit and Hell are bad words. I don't ever want to hear you say them, understood?"

"Okay," Ben said slowly, unsure of what was going on anyway.

"So what did this guy do, anyway?" Thomas asked, focusing his attention back on Ed. "I mean, I got the idea that he killed this 'Robyn' girl, but how did he do it? And why are you so mad at him, anyway? There are plenty of other murderers in this country you could hate, why him?"

"Shut up!" Ed shouted angrily, "Just shut the hell up about things you don't understand! You got your ticket to Central, now leave us alone!" Ed then returned to staring out the window, accidentally bumping his head on the window. He scowled at his own reflection and muttered a couple more swears under his breath, but other than that didn't seem to notice.

"So it's personal," Thomas concluded. "He didn't just kill someone, he killed someone close to you."

"SHUT UP!" Ed shouted, and then reached out and punched Thomas in the jaw. "You shut the hell up. You have no idea. You couldn't possibly understand what we've been through. So just shut up!"

"Brother, please…"

"You shut up too, Al!" Ed snapped back. Al whimpered slightly and withdrew into his seat a little. "None of you know what it's like! None of you! You don't know what it's like to have the nightmares I have every other night! And then to finally get a good dream, only to have that turn into a nightmare! And then that bastard Envy thrown in on top of everything else! I've spent too long wishing and hoping that maybe, just maybe, there's still some chance that Robyn's alive, only to be pushed down whenever people damn well like! And yet I still can't seem to get it through my thick skull that she's dead and won't be coming back!" Ed kicked the edge of one of the seats and then went storming off through the train.

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Ed: -tied down to a chair, still in a dress-

Kairi Angel: He's gonna explode soon.

Frodo: Ooh! Fireworks!

AdventureAddict: -laughing hysterically- I'm sorry –gasp- Ed, but –wheeze- it's just so _funny_!

Kairi Angel: Let's add insult to injury. –walks up to Ed-

Ed: …

Kairi Angel: Shortie.

Ed: I'M NOT SHORT, YOU'RE JUST GIANT! I'M NOT SMALLER THAN AN ANT! I CAN NEVER BE TOWERED BY A PENNY! I'LL KILL YOU! –riiip-

Kairi Angel: …

AdventureAddict: …

Frodo: …

Random person: Hey you short little idiot! You just ripped Mikuru's dress!

Ed: WHAAAT?!?! SHORT IDIOT?!! UNTIE ME!! UNTIE ME NOW!! I'LL KILL YOU!!

Kairi Angel: Hey, Haruhi.

AdventureAddict: -eating popcorn- This is the best way to spend five minutes of my day…

Frodo: Indeed.


	9. A Goal in Plain Sight

Ergh! Kairi Angel and I had a dialogue written out for this chapter, and now I can't find it! I suppose I shold clean that mess I call a room sometime soon… but not if I want to keep churning out chapters… bleh. Too bad I'm not more like Al instead of Ed. Then I would probably keep a cleaner room!

**As you all know, AdventureAddict does not in any way own any part of Fullmetal Alchemist. **

On wit' da show!

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Chapter Nine – A Goal in Plain Sight

Robyn and Al sat silently by each other, silently absorbing Nothingness and letting it put them at ease. To Robyn, time was nothing but a distant memory and she no longer knew how long she had been in Nothing. It could have easily been a day, but it could have just as easily been a month.

Robyn slowly slid her eyes shut, reveling in the small comfort the seemingly meaningless action brought. She missed sleep terribly, and while it didn't seem like it was even possible for her to sleep in this place, she was starting to feel the strain, but it was more of an emotional strain than physical. Constantly trying to think of who could possibly save her from this hell was slowly wearing her down.

"I wish someone would come for me already," Robyn sighed exasperatedly as she thumped her head against her knees.

"Me too," Al practically whispered. The two looked up at each other, at least glad for the comfort of having a friend nearby. Robyn knew she would have been completely insane by now if it weren't for Al.

"You are my Sunshine," Robyn started singing softly, disturbed by the blanketing silence. She also realized that probably a part of her deep down was hoping that somehow Ed would be able to hear her song like she had once heard his whispered words. That perhaps she could bring him some small amount of comfort.

"My only Sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know dear," Robyn choked on the words as tears started sliding down her cheeks. "how much I love you. Please don't take my Sunshine away." Al kept silent, his knees curled up to his chest.

"You called Brother Sunshine, didn't you?" Al finally asked a little hesitantly. Robyn looked over at him and smiled slightly.

"Yes." Al let a small smile creep over his face as well.

"I'm glad," he said happily. "If only you could be with him now. I think he needs someone like you."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well," Al began slowly, pulling at his lower lip in concentration. "Brother seems happier when he's around you, and I think he also needs," Al paused again, a slight pink blush hinting at his cheeks. "I think he needs to know that someone of the opposite sex actually finds him attractive."

"Ed?!" Robyn laughed in surprise, "You mean the guy that could star in any commercial for any product?!"

"Yeah," Al's grin widened. "You can see it, and I can see it, but I don't know if Brother can." He then paused and frowned slightly. "And I don't think that it's just physical, either," he added. "I think he needed to know that someone thought he was a good person too." Robyn nodded silently. Somehow, she thought that she had always known that.

"Robyn?"

Robyn jumped at the sudden, gentle voice that she knew didn't belong to Al. She looked up quickly and her eyes locked with the eyes of an almost transparent person standing above her, seeming to waver on the spot.

"Mom?" She felt her voice crack a little with the word, but she didn't care. For the first time in six years she was actually looking at her mother. The woman smiled down at her daughter and crouched in front of her.

"I can't stay long," she told Robyn softly. "I'm afraid that I don't belong here." Robyn nodded with a half-strangled sob, letting the tears flow freely down her face. "I just came here to tell you that you have to get here as quickly as possible."

"So then I _can_ get out of here?" Robyn choked out, and her mother nodded kindly.

"Of course, Sunshine. Did you know that I've been watching those friends of yours? That boy with the long hair seems to be especially torn."

"Ed," Robyn sobbed. "I've got to get back to him."

Robyn's mother nodded again and paused a second before continuing, "I'm sorry I never told you about your grandfather," she added quickly, "I was just trying to protect you and Luke."

"I know," Robyn reassured her quickly. The woman smiled at her daughter one last time before disappearing completely.

T-H-I-S—IS—A--D-I-V-D-I-N-G--L-I-N-E

Everyone was silent as they got off the train in Central. Ed had managed to cool down a little after seeing the man in the white suit, but not much. Thomas and Al had tried to hold a conversation as they rode on the train, but eventually stopped since Ed glares were to distracting.

"So where are you guys going?" Thomas asked slowly. He rested one hand lightly on Ben's shoulder, making sure to keep him close as they gaped at the large station.

"Military Headquarters," Ed replied coolly. He then turned and started walking without another word or backward glance directed towards Thomas or Ben. Al glanced first at Ed, then worriedly towards Thomas and Ben, and then hurried quickly after his brother.

"Come on Ben, let's go find that doctor," Thomas said softly and then gently rested a hand on Ben's shoulder to guide him through the streets. He looked back for a minute as he and Ben walked side by side and was barely able to catch a flash of gold through the crowd.

"Brother! You can't just leave them like that!" Al protested loudly as he kept even pace with his brother, who was walking pretty fast.

"Really?" Ed asked, his voice soaked through with sarcasm. "Because unless I'm wrong, we're here, they're there, and _I_," he stopped his brisk pace and looked at Al briefly before storming forward again. "_I_ am leaving!"

"Brother…" Al sighed exasperatedly, "You-"

"Oh, shut it, Al!" Ed snapped back suddenly. Al flinched backwards as if he had just been slapped. "I'm _so _pissed right now, I-" he stopped in mid-rant, unsure of how to accurately portray his feelings and instead kicked his automail foot at a wall viciously.

"Agh!" Ed yelled angrily, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk and holding up traffic as his hands clenched into fists. "That- That _bastard_! Acting like he didn't even know what he did! He just- Argh!" Ed then stopped his rant, waiting for Al to tell him to calm down, but Al just kept silent.

"Aren't you going to tell me to relax?" Ed asked curiously, cocking his head to one side.

"No." Al said the one word softly and looking down at the ground as he said it.

"No?"

"No," Al sighed and explained carefully, "I should have pulled you away from that man sooner, but I _wanted _you to hurt him. I… I almost jumped in to help you." Ed looked at his younger brother in surprise. "At that moment, I hated him, hated that man _soo_ much, Edward," Al finished, shaking slightly from either fear or remembered anger. Ed sighed inwardly, knowing that he would have to say something since Al had called him by his name, indicating that he had been thinking hard about this.

"You know what?" Ed said slowly, "I think we need to spar before we can do anything else."

"But what about Mustang?" Al asked worriedly. Ed just grinned with a dismissive flick of the wrist.

"Screw Mustang! I'm sure that he can wait a few extra hours!"

"But what about all the people out here?" Al protested, waving his arm in an arc across the crowded street. "We could hurt one of them!"

"I bet we can find a corner or something away from everyone else," Ed said quickly. "Come on, Al."

"Oh, all right," Al sighed dejectedly. "Maybe it really will help my mood a little." Ed grinned, and he two set off to find a secluded location where there wasn't a possibility of hurting innocent civilians.

They finally found it in the form of an empty, abandoned lot. It was mostly covered by just dirt, but a few weeds grew in scattered patterns across the lot. Ed guessed that the lot had probably once been a house since they were in a more residential area of Central, but for some reason or another the house had ended up being torn down, leaving only a battered wooden fence. Ed quickly took position in one corner of the lot while Al went in the other corner.

"I wonder what Thomas and Ben are doing," Al said as he and Ed lunged towards each other. He could begin to feel himself relax a little as he worked through the moves his teacher had taught him years ago.

"I don't know, and I really don't care," Ed said indifferently as he swung his foot towards Al in a powerful kick.

"Maybe…" Al continued slowly, easily blocking Ed's kick by holding up one of his arms. "Don't you think that maybe we should have gone with them Brother?"

"No."

"But what about that doctor?" Al added worriedly. "That's probably going to cost a lot of money."

"Thomas saved up money," Ed scoffed as Al thwarted yet another of his attacks. Al seemed about to add something else, so Ed quickly added, "They'll be fine, Al. All Thomas ever said he wanted was a ride to Central, which we gave them. We don't have to give them any more."

"But what if we _want _to?" Al countered, kicking his leg at Ed's side as he spoke. Ed nimbly dodged to the side and Al's foot swung in a complete arc though the air, not hitting anything.

"You think I want to help _him_?" Ed practically spat. "He called me short and blackmailed me, not to mention that he knows something about the homunculi."

"I know," Al sighed, "It's just… there's something about him. I don't know. Maybe I'm just being silly." Ed didn't answer to this and the two went silent as Ed got more and more sweaty while Al stayed the same.

"I thought saw Robyn," Al said slowly, almost a little hesitantly. He didn't ever really know how Ed would react to the subject of Robyn, since he always reacted in different ways. This time he faltered a little and ended up getting kicked in the side. "On the train," Al clarified. "It was just her back, but it kind if looked like her, and… What's wrong, Brother?" Ed jerked and tried to make his face look neutral, but he could still feel a slight sheen of sweat on his face. From fighting or Al's comment, he couldn't tell.

"Nothing Al," Ed said quickly. "Was this when I was asleep?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Nothing," Ed repeated. "It's just that I had a dream about Robyn. Funny coincidence, huh?"

"Yeah…" Al said in a voice that mirrored Ed's inner suspicious feelings.

T-H-I-S—IS—A--D-I-V-D-I-N-G--L-I-N-E

"Thomas, why are you sad?" Ben asked innocently as the two walked down the street. Thomas made sure to keep one hand protectively on Ben's shoulder, not wanting to get separated in the large crowd.

"I'm not sad," Thomas said quickly, grinning down at the small boy. "We're going to go see a doctor that might be able to help you soon, why would I be sad?"

"Then why was there a tear on your cheek?" Ben persisted, making Thomas curse the young boy's observance.

"Because I was so happy I cried a little," Thomas lied quickly. Ben seemed to accept this answer and dropped the subject.

"When will we see Ed and Al again?" he asked, changing the subject very quickly.

"I don't think we're going to see them again," Thomas said softly, not bothering to move his eyes from the sidewalk.

"What?!" Ben said in a horrified voice, "Why?!"

"Well," Thomas started slowly, making sure to choose his words carefully. "They have other things to do. After all, Ed is a State Alchemist. He has to help people around the country." He glanced over his shoulder again, only this time he didn't catch a flash of gold in the crowd.

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So… I'm sorry this came out a little later than I would have liked. Blame Kairi Angel. She was the one who gave me Twilight, and then I couldn't stop and… well, I ended up finishing it. Now I need to read New Moon. Apparently it's really sad. So sorry:( Who knows, maybe once I finish writing this and reading at the Twilight books, I might actually write a Fanfic in a category other than Fullmetal Alchemist. XD


	10. Return of the Prodigal Sons

**(Yay! I actually found the author's note I lost! Here it finally is! Sorry it took me so long…)**

Kairi Angel: Aaaand another author's note

AdventureAddict: Woo hoo.

Ed: Nooo!!! Let me out!!

Kairi Angel: I don't think that's possible. You really pissed Haruhi off.

Haruhi: Stupid shortie. –hits Ed on the head-

Ed: Oh, you wanna go like that?! Come on, bring it!!

Haruhi: I don't like hitting people who are smaller than me.

Ed: -fall-

AdventureAddict: … Uh-oh.

Kairi Angel: Hey, Haruhi, I think I have an idea for a punishment. –whispers-

Ed: -now in the bunny suit and tied to a chair again- Why doesn't Frodo have to go through any of this shit?!

Frodo: -come in with Mikuru's sailor uniform on- I'm pretty!

Kairi Angel: Because he's willing and that's no fun.

AdventureAddict: Aw! Sure it is! Pretty hobbit! –picks up Frodo and gives him a bear hug-

Kairi Angel: You just strangled Frodo.

**As you all know, AdventureAddict does not in any way own any part of Fullmetal Alchemist. **

On wit' da show!

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Chapter Ten – Return of the Prodigal Sons

Winry worriedly bit her lip as she and Armstrong hurried down to the dock that the man at the bank had told them about. She didn't know where they would go next if Ed and Al weren't somewhere nearby. Why did those two always have to get into trouble?

She and Armstrong walked down the docks silently, both busy thinking about different scenarios of what could have happened to the Elrics. They walked back and forth on the creaking wood, but in the end didn't find anything.

Winry could feel a tear start sliding down her cheek as she sank down on her knees next to a bush near the docks. She hadn't really been expecting that they would find Ed and Al so easily, but she still felt like another piece of her heart had been torn out. She was just about to get up again when she heard a soft moan from behind the bush. She immediately perked her head up and crawled into the bush without hesitation, leaving a very confused Armstrong behind on the dock.

"Edward?" she gasped when she saw the familiar form in a crumpled heap on the ground. Ed groaned slightly and managed to push himself into a sitting position while holding a hand to his head.

"You cut you hair?!" Winry shrieked, noticing that his hair was now the same length as it once had been back when he was a kid.

"Please, don't yell," Ed said softly. Winry stopped immediately, not used to Ed letting his voice sound like he was in pain.

"Where's Al?" Winry whispered softly. Ed kept his hand pressed to his forehead and pointed to the side. Winry looked over and could see the familiar metal bulk of Al. She had almost been hoping that he would have been human again after disappearing mysteriously like that, but she was glad just to have him alive.

"Al? Are you okay?" she called out. Ed groaned and held his other hand to his hand with the first one.

"I'm okay, Winry," Al called back as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

"Where are we?" Ed practically whispered, managing to take one hand away from his head and open his eyes to look at Winry. "Resembool?"

"No, silly," Winry laughed slightly, "You're in Goarhausen – where you were before you…" she paused slightly, "…Before you disappeared."

"How long were we gone?" Ed asked, his eyes widening slightly.

"A few months," Winry said slowly. "What happened to you guys anyway?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Ed replied icily, looking down at the ground, now.

"Oh, come on Ed," Winry persisted, "You can tell me anything! What could possibly happen that could make you two disappear for months?"

"I don't want to talk about it!" Ed snapped back angrily. Winry flinched back, unsure of how his eyes managed to be angry, hurt and secretive at the same time. She wasn't used to Ed looking like that when he usually hid all his feeling from everyone around him.

"What's wrong, Ed?" Winry asked softly, suddenly worried by the expression and tone of voice that she had hardly every seen on Ed. "You know you can trust me, right?"

"Stop it, Winry!" Ed shouted and jumped to his feet. He then suddenly held both hands to his head, realizing the stupidity in yelling while he had a headache. He winced and squeezed one eye shut, but the other one looked at Winry angrily.

"Ed," Winry said slowly, almost as if she was approaching a wild animal. She held out a hand towards Ed, but he just shrugged away from her before she could even touch him. "I just want to help."

"You can't help me," Ed snapped back in a voice that was dangerously close to a growl. His eyes flashed an angry yellow, making Winry take a step back before his eyes softened slightly. "You can't… help me…" Ed repeated slowly, turning away from Winry, "You can't help… she's gone… no one can help her…"

"Help who?" Winry asked curiously. Ed just kept his back turned and didn't answer, so Winry turned to the other Elric instead. "Al? Tell me what's going on!" she demanded. Al just stood up slowly and walked over to his brother's side.

"You've been through a lot today, Brother," Al said softly as he gently put a hand on Ed's back. "You should probably get some rest." Ed nodded silently at his brother's suggestion, still slightly wincing at the pain from his headache.

"Dammit, Ed!" Winry said suddenly, making both brothers jump in surprise. "Tell me what's going on right now!" the blonde girl demanded angrily as she followed them out from the bushes. Al flinched slightly at her angry tone, but both of the boys kept silent.

"What the hell is wrong?!" Winry said again, this time managing to grab Ed's shoulder. Ed looked back at her with wide eyes before shrugging out of her grip.

"I'll be fine tomorrow," Ed told her softly. "Just stop worrying about me, okay?"

"You think it's that easy?!" Winry said angrily as tears started sliding down her cheeks. "I know something's happened to you, but you won't tell me about it and I can't do anything to help you!"

"I'm just tired," Ed said with a soft sigh.

"You're _always_ tired!" Winry huffed, stomping her foot on the ground. "Don't try to fool me with that bullshit!"

"Then I guess I'm more tired than usual," Ed replied crossly, starting to lose his temper with Winry.

"Edward Elric!" Winry yelled angrily. "Do you know how far I came to make sure you were okay?! And now you're just pushing me away?! I was _worried_ about you!!"

"You shouldn't have come so far," Ed muttered as he looked down at the ground and clenched his hands into fists.

"Well, I did. And you-"

"What if you had gotten hurt?!" Ed snapped at her suddenly. Winry jolted slightly at the thought and took a small step backwards.

"I'm fine, Ed," she assured him softly. "Nothing happened to me, I'm fine."

"But what if something _had_ happened?!" Ed snapped back at her. "You have to _think_ Winry! You can't just go running off like that!"

"Well, _excuse me_," Winry barked back. "I'm _sorry_ if I started worrying that perhaps you and Al had gone off without thinking! And now you're yelling at me because I did the same thing?!"

"Yes!" Ed yelled angrily. Winry glared at him until Ed eventually sighed and his eyes softened.

"I can't lose you too," he whispered before turning and walking with Al again. Winry cocked her head as she watched the two brothers walk side by side, with Ed walking slower than usual. The last time she could remember him acting anything like this was back when their mom had died. What could have possibly happened to those two?

"EDWARD ELRIC! I SEE THAT WE HAVE FINALLY FOUND BOTH YOU AND YOUR BROTHER! THOUGH THIS IS NO SURPRISE TO ME, FOR LOCATING LOST PERSONS HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN FOR GENERATIONS IN THE ARMSTRONG FAMILY!!"

"Shit," Ed muttered as the large man came running down the dock. He glanced around quickly before ducking back into the bushes he had just come out of.

T-H-I-S—IS—A--D-I-V-D-I-N-G--L-I-N-E

"Thomas!" a voice called distantly from the crowd. Thomas jerked at the voice and quickly spun around to see who it was. He couldn't see through the crowd of people, but he was almost certain who it was from the voice he had heard.

"Thomas?" Ben said impatiently as he tugged at the sleeve of the older boy. "Can I go pet that woman's dog? Please?" he pointed to a blonde woman with a small black dog walking obediently beside her.

"Sure," Thomas said distractedly as he strained to look through the crowd. Ben smiled happily and ran off right before Ed finally burst through the knot of people that had been preventing Thomas from seeing him.

"Hey Thomas," Ed grinned and quickly started walking beside Thomas. "I was wondering if you wanted any help." Thomas sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Nice try, Envy, but Ed doesn't grin like that," Thomas told the blond boy next to him. Envy scowled and switched back to his normal form. Thomas looked around quickly and was relieved to see that no one had seemed to notice the change.

"You're no fun," Envy pouted as he crossed his arms across his chest. Thomas sighed at the reaction and rolled his eyes.

"So what do you want?" Thomas asked as the two kept walking down the street. Thomas desperately resisted the urge to look over at Ben to make sure he was okay. Envy didn't know about Ben yet, and Thomas planned to keep it that way.

"So you were travelling with the Fullmetal boy?" Envy said the statement as if it was a question, even though he knew the answer from when he noticed Thomas and Ed were together in Resembool.

"Yes," Thomas sighed while looking up at the sky as if he was wishing he could be anywhere else at the moment. "If you homunculi are teaming up against us, I see no reason why the few humans who know about you shouldn't team up against you."

"Maybe so," Envy grinned. "So then I take it that you wouldn't want to help us?" Thomas shot Envy a glare that made the pale homunculi sigh, "Pity. But I suppose you would consider it a good thing that I have specific orders not to harm you unless you attack me first."

"I suppose that it could be positive that the first order you actually decided to listen to was one concerning me," Thomas scoffed. This time it was Envy's turn to glare.

"I will do anything to help benefit my brothers and sisters," Envy growled at the brown-haired boy. "Even if it means sacrificing my life. We don't only think about ourselves like you pathetic humans."

"If you think that the only one I'm taking care of is myself, then you're seriously mistaken," Thomas snarled back. The two glared at each other for a solid half a minute before Thomas finally sighed, "I bet you didn't come here just to argue with me. Was there something else other than Ed?"

"Yeah," Envy grinned as the two started walking again. "Does the name Robyn Davenport mean anything to you?" Thomas could feel his muscles tighten at the sudden shift in topic, but he kept walking and tried to keep his face looking relaxed.

"And what if it does?" he asked calmly, once again glad that his sunglass hid his eyes from view.

"She seems like a very interesting person," Envy said just as calmly as Thomas, except he was smirking. "I saw her on the train yesterday, and yet there are no records of her belonging to the Davenport family at all. It's as if she doesn't exist."

"Really?" Thomas tried to keep his face calm, but he could feel the panic slowly rising until it was a large lump at the bottom of his throat. Just how much did the homunculi know?

"In fact," Envy continued, seeming to sense Thomas's worry, "in 1985 the last Davenport and his wife suddenly disappeared, never to be seen again."

"And why are you interested in all this?" Thomas asked, deciding to look to the side instead of directly at Envy.

"If this Robyn girl really is the daughter of the Davenport couple that disappeared, then Roy Mustang is her grandfather," Envy smirked. "Which means that she would have a high alchemical aptitude along with the ability to travel through time. I think anyone would want to make friends with a girl like that. No wonder the Fullmetal pipsqueak is so worried about protecting his girlfriend."

"Bastard," Thomas spat as he suddenly rammed his knee into Envy's stomach. He then turned around and ran back the way the two of them had just walked, hoping that he would still be able to find Ben.

He finally found Ben by a stall selling apples. The young boy was petting a very happy Black Hayate while Riza looked at them with a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. All three suddenly looked up in surprise when Thomas came to a screeching halt in front of them.

"Thomas?" Riza said in surprise. "What are you doing here? Did you come to see the Colonel?"

"Huh?" Thomas looked up at her in surprise and then smiled when he recognized her. "Oh, hello Hawkeye. I didn't recognize you with your hair down. I'm just here to take Ben to see a doctor."

"Oh?" Riza looked at Ben in surprise. "I thought you didn't have any relatives still living. Is he your brother?"

"Kind of," Thomas winced slightly. "I guess you could say he's my adopted little brother. So what are you doing out here?"

"Oh, I got a day off, so I decided to get some groceries," Riza shrugged. "But I could go with you to see this doctor if you wanted."

"Oh no, that's all right!" Thomas said quickly. "You go ahead and finish your shopping!" he paused and glanced at clock tower towards the center of the square. "But we'd better get going soon anyway." Ben sighed and let go of Black Hayate so he could stand up next to Thomas.

"Well, all right then," Riza said slowly. Thomas grinned and started leading Ben down the street again, trying to keep him even closer than he had before.

"Thomas!" Riza said suddenly after he had gone about ten steps away from her. Thomas stopped and turned back to look at her, curious about what she had to say. "Visit the Colonel while you're still in town! I think he's missed you ever since you left!" Thomas grinned and gave Riza a lazy salute before turning around and walking into the crowd again.

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**(So are you curious about Thomas yet? Any guesses yet? Kee, I feel evil today…) **

Frodo: -unconscious-

Ed: -still wearing girl's clothes- Freakin' fangirls.

Kairi Angel: You don't like us? –cries-

Ed: Wha-? You're crying? Shit! I didn't mean-

Kairi Angel: God you're gullible.

Ed: I hate you.

AdventureAddict: Wha-? But… I… -cries-

Ed: I'm not falling for that again. Now let me go!

AdventureAddict: -cries louder-

Frodo: -starts crying-

Kairi Angel: Frodo? Why are you crying? o.0

Frodo: I ripped my skirt…

Ed: Why the hell are you wearing a thong?

Frodo: I will not tell!

Kairi Angel: I will not ask.


	11. A Little More About Thomas Korbin

Al: Hey, Brother, I get to be in the author's note this time!

Ed: Finally! Get me out of this place!

Al: I kinda like it here, Brother!

Kairi Angel: Yeah, Ed. If you leave we can always catch you again. 'Cept we won't give you cake.

Ed: Cake?

AdventureAddict: With chocolate frosting and sprinkles on the inside!

Kairi Angel: And those huge-ass frosting roses.

AdventureAddict: I'm hungry now…

Al: I can't have any of that…

Kairi Angel: -is really a witch that can control time and space and turns Al into a real boy-

Al: I'm a real boy, Brother!

AdventureAddict: Meep! Alphonse-meow-meow! –glomp-

**As you all know, AdventureAddict does not in any way own any part of Fullmetal Alchemist. **

On wit' da show!

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Chapter Eleven – A Little More About Thomas Korbin

Thomas sighed and slowly readjusted himself in the uncomfortable chair. He had no idea how long he and Ben had been sitting in the hospital waiting room, but it felt like forever. Beside him Ben kept pinching his arm, letting go and then pinching it again.

"Don't do that, Ben," Thomas scolded gently. "You don't want to end up making yourself bleed, do you?" Ben groaned and started squirming in his chair. He was obviously bored, even if he and Thomas were there for his benefit.

"Thomas Korbin?" The woman behind the counter said as she looked up at the two people who were actually in the waiting room. "Doctor Volckhausen says he can see you now."

"Finally," Thomas muttered under his breath before standing up and stretching. "Come on Ben," he said to the young boy next to him, who then sighed and stood up. The woman behind the counter smiled warmly at them and then led them down a hall with multiple doors on either side. At the end of the hall she opened a door to the left and motioned for Thomas and Ben to go in. The two boys walked into the room warily, surprised at the large office.

"I hear that you boys have a rather interesting problem," the doctor behind the desk said, smiling at them warmly. "Why don't you sit down and we'll talk about it?" Thomas gave Ben a small smile before he sat down in the chair.

"So," Doctor Volckhausen said slowly as he crisscrossed his fingers together. "You show up in my office today saying that you need to speak to me immediately but don't have an appointment."

"Yes sir," Thomas mumbled. "Today in town I saw someone who…erm…doesn't like me very much. I think we'll have to leave soon, but I needed to speak to you first. I heard that you were the best with children's disorders."

"Perhaps," Doctor Volckhausen laughed. "Just what type of disorder am I dealing with here?"

"It sounds really weird," Thomas sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "But… he can't feel pain." The doctor thoughtfully rested his elbows on the desk and looked at Ben, who squirmed under the unfamiliar man's gaze.

"If you think that is strange, then you will be very surprised by my story," the doctor laughed slightly. "Believe it or not, we actually once had a patient here with the same condition. She was a young girl, perhaps a year of two older than you," he said with a nod in Ben's direction. "And she was the daughter of some very wealthy parents. They gave me money to find a cure for her, so I worked on it for months. And just when it was ready, the little girl went and drowned on the family's vacation."

"A _cure_?" Thomas repeated disbelievingly. "You actually have a _cure_?"

"Yes," the doctor said proudly. "But you do realize it will cost you, right?"

"Of course," Thomas replied absently, his mind still reeling at the thought of an actual cure for Ben. "How much?" Doctor Volckhausen thoughtfully put his hand to his chin.

"Well, some of the ingredients are very expensive," he said slowly, "And we will have to remake the potion since the other one is probably too old… I'd estimate it at about… 18,750,000 sen." **(1)** Thomas suddenly snapped out of his thoughts at the huge price.

"Eighteen and three-quarters of a million?!" he said in surprise. "But I've only saved up six and one-quarter of a million!" **(2)**

"Well, isn't that your problem?" Doctor Volckhausen said coolly. "I've named my price, you're the one who has to worry about paying it."

"Bullshit!" Thomas roared, jumping up and banging his fist on the table. "You're a doctor! Aren't doctors supposed to do the same thing as alchemists? Work _for _the people?!"

"Since when do alchemists actually work for the people?" the doctor said, his voice just as calm as before. "It seems to me like they only want to help themselves."

"Then I guess we haven't been meeting the same alchemists," Thomas spat in reply. Doctor Vockhausen raised one eyebrow in question, and the brown-haired teen continued with a sigh. "Just today a state alchemist got us train tickets to this town, and I know another who may be a little vain about his muscles," Thomas paused for a quick shudder, "But he's still always trying to help the people he thinks are standing up for the right thing. And Roy Mustang would give his own life to protect the lives of the people he cared about!"

"Well, no matter your opinion on state alchemists," the doctor shrugged nonchalantly, "18,750,000 is my offer, and that is where it will stay. Take it, or leave it."

"But how do you expect me to get all that money?" Thomas yelled indignantly. "I can't just raise twelve and a half million sens in a few days!"

"I didn't say you had to get it in a few days," Doctor Volckhausen shrugged as he settled back into his chair. "Bring it to me whenever you like and I'll start on a batch of a cure for your brother. But-" he paused as he looked at the two boys and a smile settled across his features. "I can't guarantee how effective it will be on a child older than I had originally anticipated."

"Bastard," Thomas spat. "All you care about is _money_. You won't even make a small sacrifice for one little boy." The doctor looked up at Thomas calmly, without even a hint of shame for his feelings.

"You… you… Asshole!" Thomas yelled loudly, this time swinging his fist at Doctor Volckhausen's face. The doctor easily dodged the punch as two large men came in the room.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave the premises, Mr. Korbin," he said calmly as the two men hooked their arms under Thomas's. "After all, this is a state-of-the-art facility and we wouldn't want you to damage any of our expensive machines, now would we?" Thomas merely growled at the man while struggling against his captors.

"Go… to… hell!" Thomas managed to pant out as he aimed a few kicks at the large men's shins. The man holding Thomas's left side managed to also grab the back of Ben's shirt and start dragging the two out of the room. Ben struggled weakly against the man's grip, but knew it was useless anyway and soon gave up. Thomas however, kept attacking his captors until they had managed to drag him out to the street.

"Learn some manners, kid," one man growled before the two threw both Thomas and Ben on the sidewalk. Thomas winced when he heard a small crack come from his right leg as he hit the pavement. The two men didn't seem to notice and went back in the building, laughing at some unknown joke.

"Thomas?" a surprised female voice suddenly said from behind the two boys. Thomas gratefully turned without standing up and found himself looking into the concerned mahogany eyes of Riza Hawkeye.

"Riza!" he said, relieved by her sudden appearance. "You know, I was thinking that maybe I would go to Central Headquarters today. You wouldn't mind if we left now, would you?" Riza raised one eyebrow in suspicion.

T-H-I-S--I-S--A--D-I-V-I-D-I-N-G--L-I-N-E

Ed finally managed to walk into Military Headquarters, covered head to toe in sweat and not able to move anything except the fingers on his right arm. Al sighed slightly as he watched his brother once again try to move his arm, but still only succeeding in wiggling his fingers.

"You should have had Winry check it before we left," Al said with a sigh.

"I _know_, Al!" Ed hissed back as the two kept walking down the familiar hallways.

"You shouldn't have pushed yourself to hard when we were sparring."

"I _know_, Al!"

"You really should take better care of your automail, Brother."

"_Shut up_, Al!" Ed hissed through clenched teeth as he opened the door to Roy's office. He then walked up swiftly to the desk and put the bottle of wine in front of Roy with a loud cluck. Roy looked up with a slight smile.

"Why, thank you Fullmetal," he said merrily. Ed could feel his lips part in a slight snarl, but he quickly restrained himself.

"…'s nothing," Ed mumbled, looking down at his boots instead of at his superior.

"Why, did I even get a thank you in return?" Roy said, feigning surprise as he put a hand to his chest. "What could have possibly happened to change your mood so much since the last time I saw you? You didn't happen to meet a girl, did you?" Ed growled slightly, but once again managed to control himself.

"Well, I have your next assignment for you," Roy sighed as he rearranged the papers on his desk, knowing that his taunts wouldn't really produce the same fun as they usually did with the blonde teen.

"This small town to the east has recently had a string of murders," Roy continued with a slight sigh, "The victims seem to be completely random, ranging from four-year old girls to fifty-year old men."

"Bastard," Ed muttered under his breath, and making Roy smile slightly.

"Or Bitch," he corrected. "We don't know whether the killer is male or female yet. Ed shrugged as if to say that he didn't care whether he mixed up his pronouns with a serial killer.

"Anyway," Roy continued with a slight sigh, "The town's name is Impar, or more commonly known as 'The City of the Robins.'" Ed's head suddenly snapped up, and he was immediately listening to every word Roy said.

"Robins seem to love the city," Roy continued, seemingly oblivious to Ed's abrupt attention. "They're always flocking in the city, covering the streets, in fact. Some people say that the robins bring good luck, while others claim that the birds bring misfortune upon all. More people are leaning towards the misfortune side now with this recent string of murders."

"The City of what?" Ed repeated softly, his face a ghostly white.

"Robins," Roy repeated, now actually looking at Ed. "Is there a problem, Fullmetal?"

"No," Ed said weakly, determined not to let the Colonel see one of his truly weak spots. "Impar. City of Robins. Seemingly random murders," he listed off.

"If you want," Roy started, watching Ed closely with a half-worried, half-surprised look, "I could get you another assignment-"

"No!" Ed snapped at Roy, his golden eyes flashing angrily. Al had already taken a few steps backward, having predicted this as soon as he had heard the word 'robin.'

"I'm fine!" Ed snapped, making Roy look at him even more curiously. "Just give me the damn assignment, shut the hell up and leave me alone, bastard!" Ed snapped. Roy felt the corners of his mouth twitch slightly. This was more of the Edward Elric he knew. He couldn't deal with a depressed young man that wouldn't even admit his problems, but he could certainly deal with a foul-mouthed, pissed-off teenager.

"Well, aren't you just a little ray of sunshine," Roy said sarcastically with a slight smile. "Did you wake up on the wrong side of the-" he stopped suddenly as he felt the tip of Ed's automail blade pressed against his throat.

"Never. Call me that. Again," Ed huffed, staring at his superior with an intensity that Roy had never seen directed at himself. He looked at Ed curiously, not actually intimidated because he knew he could scorch the young alchemist, but curious about what had made Ed so angry. He had barely ever seen Ed like this, and the few times he had, it hadn't been a pleasant situation.

Something was wrong with Ed, seriously wrong, and Roy knew it.

The two were suddenly interrupted out of their staring competition when a sudden creak came from the door. Ed quickly jumped down from the desk, his eyes still burning while Roy looked at the intruder in surprise.

"Thomas?" he said in surprise. Both Elric brothers jumped slightly in surprise at the name and looked over to see a limping Thomas walking in with the support of Riza Hawkeye. Ben darted worriedly around the two, his large eyes repeatedly darting back to Thomas.

"Hello, Teacher," Thomas said with a weak smile as he winced slightly. "I was hoping for a small favor."

Both the Elric brothers' eyes had nearly popped out of their head as they looked back and forth from Roy to Thomas. _Teacher_?!?!

"_Small_ favor?" Roy said with a slight shake to his head as he rolled his eyes. "You do realize that Kris is going to kill you, don't you?" Thomas winced slightly and nodded, making Roy sigh heavily.

Meanwhile, both Elrics stood seemingly ignored in the background, their eyes bigger than dinner plates.

"Well, I guess I could help a little," Roy sighed heavily. "But on one condition," he paused and looked over at the Elric brothers. "You have to take them along."

"What?!" both Ed and Thomas interrupted simultaneously, Ed quickly shaken out of his astonishment.

"I don't need a babysitter!"

"Teacher, I can ride a train perfectly fine by myself!"

Roy held up a hand to silence both of them, and first looked over at Ed.

"Unless I'm mistaken, judging by your movements, you have managed to break your automail _again_," he said sternly. Ed blushed slightly and shrugged his right shoulder in an attempt to make it move. "Thomas happens to have a girlfriend who is an automail mechanic that lives much closer than your mechanic. She does good work, and you will be able to move on to your assignment in Impar quickly," he explained, while holding the manila folder out to Ed. Ed took the folder with a slight scowl but didn't say anything.

"And you," he said, turning to Thomas. "_You_ promised to follow any order I gave you once I was your teacher, didn't you?" he asked sternly.

"Yes," Thomas mumbled, still looking down at the ground.

"Then you will take Ed and Al to see Kris," Roy told the boy, who just nodded meekly. Roy sighed and looked up at Riza.

"And thank _you_ lieutenant Hawkeye, for bringing my idiot apprentice back here in one piece," he said to her kindly. Riza nodded curtly to show she had heard him while Al tried to stifle a chuckle at the fact that Roy had used the name 'idiot apprentice' in a way very similar to the way Izumi did with her own two apprentices.

Ed's mind, however, was very heavy with the fact that once he got his automail fixed, he would be traveling to Impar, The City of the Robins.

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**(1)** About 150,000 USD if my calculations are right. Correct me if I'm wrong.

**(2) **About 50,000 USD, again if my calculations are correct. Which means that he's actually saved up a lot, but still quite a bit off.

AdventureAddict: Hey, I was wondering – how were you able to control time and space, Kairi? Aren't _I _the almighty author?

Kairi Angel: My name's Sabrina.

Ed: …That's it?

Kairi Angel: Yes.

Ed: That's stupid.

Kairi Angel: No, you.

Al: Don't call people stupid, Brother!

Frodo: I want to say something!

AdventureAddict: Well, go ahead.

Frodo: Something.

Ed: Well aren't you deep.


	12. The Demon Child’s Past

Frodo: -singing- I feel pretty, oh so pretty, I feel pretty and witty and gaaay!

AdventureAddict: What a way to start the day.

Ed: 'Gay' almost sums it up.

Kairi Angel: Where's Sam anyway?

AdventureAddict: Why ask about Sam after mentioning the word 'gay?' –shifty eyes-

Frodo: Sam is at home, taking a bath with fresh rose petals floating on top of the water!

Ed: How do you know all this?

Kairi Angel: We don't. Addict reads too much shojo manga.

Ed: Except for Fullmetal Alchemist, of course. I feel _sooo_ loved.

Kairi Angel: You should.

**As you all know, AdventureAddict does not in any way own any part of Fullmetal Alchemist. **

On wit' da show!

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Chapter Twelve – The Demon Child's Past

"So…" Thomas began slowly. Ed sat next to him on the train, scowling slightly with his arms crossed over his chest. Once again Thomas and Ed had been forced to sit next to each other, considering that Ben was the only one small enough to sit next to Al comfortably. Edward didn't seem to pay any attention to Thomas, but Al looked up when Thomas suddenly broke the silence.

"So," Thomas repeated, sounding a little unsure of himself, "Since we're going to Kris' house, I guess I should explain a little more about my past." Neither of the Elrics seemed to move, except for the slight straightening of Ed's posture. Ben was completely silent, asleep comfortably even against the hard metal of Al's body.

"So I guess you could say that my problems started when I was born," Thomas bean slowly, pulling off his sunglasses. He could feel Ed flinch slightly at the sight of the weird eyes, but Ed didn't say anything out loud, so Thomas hesitantly continued.

"I was born in the small town of Wenniger, where we're headed right now. I was also born with these eyes, the right blood red and the left pitch black. It scared the midwife when I opened my eyes, and she thrust me into my mother's arms and ran.

"My mother and father, however, didn't seem to mind that I had such evil looking eyes, and still promised to raise me properly. They sheltered me from the rest of the village until the point I was forced to go to school. Before I had gone to school, I had never left the house, and even once I started school I still left the house as little as possible. I know my parents were trying to protect me, but in the end my ignorance only ended up hurting me.

"The entire time I spent in school was hell for me. All the kids picked on me, calling me names like 'demon child,' and freak. They didn't even bother to stop insulting me in front of their parents, since all the adults in the town felt the same way as the children. Looking back, I think that they were all actually frightened of me, but I didn't know that as a kid.

"Somehow I managed to survive through all the comments until I was thirteen years old. I was in a deep depression, but I managed to hide it from my parents, and they seemed to think that I was reasonably happy for a boy my age.

"Then our house caught on fire. It was in the middle of the night, so it took a lot longer for help to come than it would have during the day. I managed to get out through an open window, but both my parents died in the fire. The comments about me grew worse, with people starting to say that the fire was my fault. I fell into an even deeper depression, hurt by the nasty comments and the death of my parents.

"I put the land that had once been my house up for sale. I wasn't hoping for anybody to buy it, since they all considered it to be cursed, but deep down I was still a little hopeful for the chance to rid myself of my past.

"Then one day a girl by the name of Kristine Haines came to town, announcing that she wanted to buy the land. She wasn't much older than I was, but she had the money, so I didn't object. I don't know how she managed it all, but she soon had a house built, and invited for me to come live with her. I gratefully accepted, since I didn't really have anywhere else to go.

"Everything was going fine until about a year ago. Suddenly I got restless, and couldn't stay in the same town anymore. So I packed up, said my goodbyes, and moved on with the hopes that it would ease the gnawing pit in the bottom of my stomach.

"I soon got into the habit of camping wherever I could, since I never really had enough money to sleep at an inn. So one night I set up in the woods and fell asleep, not thinking anything of it. That night a pack of wild wolves attacked me. I tried to fight back, but there were so many of them that it was useless."

"Wolves?" Ed asked skeptically. Thomas shot him a look, nodded, and then continued with his story.

Finally something distracted the pack, and they left me bleeding in the clearing that had once been my camp. I don't know how long I laid there until I finally heard twigs snapping in the distance. I closed my eyes, thinking that the wolves had returned to finish me off, but when I opened them again, I saw Teacher bending over me instead."

"What was he doing in the forest?" Ed said as he raised one eyebrow. Thomas rolled his eyes at being interrupted again.

"Brother," Al sighed. "You wanted to know more about Thomas, but now that he's actually telling us, you won't shut up. Just let him finish the story, okay?" Ed scowled at Al and crossed his arms, but fell silent again. Thomas nodded at Al gratefully and continued.

"Teacher carried me into the next town. I had lost so much blood that the local doctor didn't think I'd be able to survive, but somehow I managed to pull through. As soon as I was conscious again, I asked Teacher to let me become his apprentice. At first he didn't want to have an apprentice at all, but after he thought about it for a while, he said he would do it, but only on two conditions.

"The first condition was that I follow any order he gave me without any questions. I agreed to that one pretty easily, since I figured that he wouldn't give me any commands that would be more dangerous than I could handle, and I could deal with other less important ones." Both Elrics cocked their heads at this statement, so Thomas smiled slightly and added, "He had me fetching coffee and polishing his shoes for at least a month. He likes having authority and power. I'm surprised that he doesn't have a dog." Both Ed and Al stifled chuckles at this, remembering when Black Hayate had first showed up at Headquarters.

"So what was the second condition?" Al asked Thomas, curious to hear the rest of the story. Thomas sighed slightly and crossed his arms.

"The second condition," he began slowly "Was that I would get automail." Ed's eyes got wider, and a loud clank came from Al as he sat up straighter in surprise. Thomas sighed slightly, then reached down and slowly pulled up his right pant leg.

Ed looked at the shiny metal in surprise. It had the same sort of smooth lines and sleek design that Winry's automail had, but Thomas' automail had a completely different style to it. Out of curiosity, Ed pulled up his own left pant leg to compare the two.

"Built light for speed," Thomas said with a smile as he proudly patted his metal leg. "And so that my growth won't be _too_ stunted by hauling this baby around."

"You got automail?" Ed scowled, partly from disbelief at Thomas' story, partly from anger at the fact that _Thomas_ had light automail that wouldn't stunt growth. "I thought the surgery and rehabilitation usually took about three years."

"But you got your automail in a year," Al reminded his brother gently.

"I got mine in nine months," Thomas said softly, but still with a slight hind of smugness in his voice. "But I will admit that it hurt like hell."

"So you got your automail, the colonel became your teacher, and then what?" Al asked, eager to hear the rest. Thomas sighed quietly, but continued on with the the story.

"So I got my automail and Teacher became…well, my teacher. I soon learned that while he was an overall good person, he was still very tough to learn under. Instead of leaving me alone while I was getting my automail, he used it as a teaching opportunity. When I wasn't relearning how to walk, I was learning different ways to apply and use fire alchemy. I barely had enough time to sleep at night, and sometimes I even gave that up to pursue my own studies."

He paused, and noticing Ed's confused expression, explained with a slight smile, "Fire people. It originally started as a dare from Kris. Teacher wasn't really very interested in something as pointless as living sculptures made out of fire, so I had to learn how to do it on my own.

"But Teacher is an important man in the military, so he had to go back to headquarters before my automail was completely done. But he did leave me with specific instructions to continue my training and checked up on me regularly until I was finally able to go out to headquarters." Thomas paused as the train ground to a halt and a crackly voice announced the name of town they had arrived in.

"This is our stop," he said, pulling himself to his feet. He grabbed his backpack and slung it over both his shoulders before reaching down and gently picking Ben up. He then turned and walked off the train with the Elric brothers trailing behind him.

"So what happened when you arrived at headquarters?" Al asked as the boys walked away from the train station. Thomas readjusted Ben in his arms, already starting to hurt from the weight of the small boy.

"Well, first Teacher introduced me to everyone," Thomas said, shrugging slightly. "I guess they were all rather happy that Teacher had finally managed to get an apprentice. In fact, Havoc couldn't seem to stay off his back." Ed stifled a laugh as he thought of Havoc harassing Mustang about his idiot apprentice.

"But even while I was learning new things from Teacher, I still kept practicing me fire people. Whenever I got a spare moment, I would go into town and perform them for tips. I kept saving all the money I earned, knowing it would come in handy.

"And then about a month ago I found Ben in the street," Thomas said with a smile as he looked down at the sleeping boy in his arms. "I talked to Teacher about it, and he seemed to understand. He sent me back here to see Kris again, but said that he wouldn't give me anymore 'charity' after that. After that I've been performing my fire alchemy for tips and saving it all for Ben. Of course, until I had to go and break my automail," he added, scowling as he kept limping down the street. "I guess Teacher doesn't count paying for my automail to get fixed 'charity.' It was his idea that I get it, after all."

"So that was why you acted so strangely," Al said slowly as he nodded in understanding.

"Huh?" Thomas glanced up at Al with a look of confusion on his face.

"Well, when we first saw you at the Harvest Festival, you seemed kind of spooked," Al explained. "I guess if Roy introduced you to everyone else, then he told you about Brother and me. I suppose it would be a little weird to suddenly meet two people you've only heard about before that."

"Oh" Thomas said softly. "Yeah…"

"THOMAS, YOU ASSHOLE!" a female voice suddenly cried out in the distance. Thomas, Al and Ed all flinched at the sound, and Ben softly started waking up again.

"You broke it didn't you, you bastard?!" a female about the same age as Thomas came storming into view. Ed immediately thought of Winry, even though this girl was much more… _expressive_ than his old childhood friend.

She was wearing a pair of tattered pants that had multiple holes and mismatched patches on them. Her left pant leg was the normal length, but her right pant leg had been ripped just above the knee, revealing a slender leg that ended in a battered tennis shoe. On top of the pants she wore a pink miniskirt that was nearly as colorful as the electric blue halter-top on the upper half of her body.

But the most interesting part of her outfit was her hair. Ed guessed from the few bits of un-dyed hair, that she had originally been born with sandy blonde hair, but now she had dyed the top half blue and the bottom half purple. A thin choker wound its way around her neck, and large hoop earrings dangled from her ears.

Well, Ed would give her some credit – the girl certainly did have _style_. **(1)**

"Hey, Kris," Thomas said weakly.

"Don't you 'Hey, Kris' me, Asshole!" Kris snapped back at him. "First you don't give me a single damn phone call except one from a train reception with shitty reception – yes, I damn well know you called me from the train station – and then you show up with the automail I slave to create for you turned into a piece of shit and with visitors, at that!"

"Kris!" Ben said softly, as he groggily rubbed one eye and held out the other towards her.

"Hey, Ben!" Kris said, suddenly turning into a second person. "How are you doing, sweetheart? You want a cookie?"

"Yeah!" Ben said excitedly. Thomas put him down and let Kris take the young boy's hand and lead him down the road.

"Look, Kris, I'm sorry," Thomas tried as he walked briskly behind her and Ben. Ed and Al also started to follow, wondering if the whole time they were here would be like this.

"You damn well better be sorry!" Kris snapped back at him, glancing over her shoulder with angry eyes. "You keep treating my automail like shit and then don't even give me a proper hello!"

"Look, I only broke my automail once before!" Thomas snapped back at her, though the Ed thought from the tone of his voice that he wasn't really angry. Kris looked back over her shoulder and glared at him, as if daring him to say that the damage wasn't that bad.

"And I would have given you a proper hello," Thomas continued, "But I was to busy being yelled at!" Kris harrumphed him and quickened her pace. Thomas tried to keep up with her, but finally gave up and called out behind her, "It really is nice to see you again!"

Kris looked back over her shoulder again, this time smiling brightly. Ed felt himself amazed at how quickly and completely the girl could change moods.

"Love you too!" she cooed before turning back to Ben.

"Did you ever get a chance to read _Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde_?" Ed hissed under his breath to Al. **(2) **Al just shook his head. "Too bad," Ed sighed. "I have a feeling the information from that book would come in handy about now."

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**(1)** Take that as sarcasm, the fact that she really does have style, or just Ed being Ed. Whichever you think fits best with your definition of the word _style_.

**(2) **Sorry if I spelled that completely wrong. I don't actually own it, so I don't know how it's actually spelled.

AdventureAddict: Darn you, Frodo! Now I got that song stuck in my head!

Frodo: I feel pretty… -hums-

Kairi Angel: I have Zersubou Billy in my head. Death, despair, blood. :3

Frodo: …Pretty.

Kairi Angel: Blood.

AdventureAddict: Yeah, well if I have a song stuck in my head that I don't want, the you will too. –starts singing- I'm just a bill, yes I'm only a bill…

Ed: Gah! Stop!

Kairi Angel: –muting Addict out with her own singing- Zetsubou za billy za rinrii saa tomenarai eraser rain.

AdventureAddict: And I'm sitting here on Capitol Hill…

Frodo: Oh so pretty…

Ed: Ah! Do you not realize how badly all your songs clash?!


	13. Kissters

**(Today we have the special guest of Edward Cullen come in. if you haven't read Twilight before, just know that he's a vampire. …With golden eyes, which signifies that he's a vampire that doesn't hurt humans. 'Kay, Twilight rant over now.)**

Edward Cullen: Where am I?

Ed: Welcome to hell.

Kairi Angel: Eee!

AdventureAddict: _Edward_?! –glomp-

Kairi Angel: -stares in silence-

Ed: Finally she shuts up.

Frodo: -walks up to Edward- You're pretty.

Edward: …Um…Thank…you?

Ed: How come with me you can't stop putting me in dresses and spewing out the height insults, but with him you're-

AdventureAddict: … -drools-

Ed: Yeah, like that.

Edward: Because women do that around me. I'm sexier than you. Shall I go on, shortie?

Ed: -vein pops in his head and he dies-

Kairi Angel: Oh shit.

AdventureAddict: Ouch. Wait a sec… you killed Ed! Noes! Why, Edward, why?

Kairi Angel: -hits Ed with some healing spells then kills him again- I'm bored now…

Edward: Hm… I'm thirsty.

Kairi Angel: Eh?!

**As you all know, AdventureAddict does not in any way own any part of Fullmetal Alchemist. **

On wit' da show!

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(Lucky) Chapter Thirteen – Kristine Haines' Sanctuary for Those Rejected by Society

"Okay, before we go inside, there's a few things you should know," Thomas said as he paused in front of the house and looked over at Ed and Al.

"Like what?" Ed sighed and held up his right hand to shield his eyes from the setting sun. "I thought you already told us your entire autobiography on the train out here."

"Not my _entire _autobiography," Thomas corrected with a slight grin. "Do you really think I would tell you that much at once? I know you sure wouldn't." Ed scowled slightly, but Thomas continued, "Besides, there are certain rules at Kris' house." Ed glanced over at Kris, who smiled back and held up both her middle fingers as if they were the peace symbol.

"Come on, Ben," Kris said brightly before turning and pulling the young boy inside.

"There are a lot of people living here who each have their own… quirks," Thomas said slowly. "Of course, you already know about Ben and me, Kris is normal-"

"Define 'normal,'" Ed muttered under his breath. Thomas raised an eyebrow, but didn't rebuke Ed for the comment against his girlfriend.

"So, from youngest to oldest, it would be…" Thomas paused for a moment as he ordered them all in his head and then continued, "Alice, Samuel, Benjamin, Peter, Claudia, Harley, me, and then Kris. Alice is only a year old, but both her legs grew together so that she looks like a mermaid, Samuel has to have everything a certain way, so just let him go when he has to rearrange things."

"Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?" Ed asked curiously.

"The doctors haven't given it an actual name," Thomas shrugged, "But I suppose that 'obsessive' does explain it pretty well. Then there's Ben, you know all about him, then Peter, who says he can see ghosts. **(1) **Don't tell him it's unscientific or anything, because then you'll really upset him. Claudia is simple to get along with, you just have to make sure you don't step on any cracks in the floor or she'll freak out, Harley hasn't left the house since Kris first brought her here, because otherwise she'll have all sorts of sides effects, and then finally me and Kris. Kris started this house as a safe haven for 'freaks' after she bought the land from me. More and more people have come here since then, and somehow Kris manages it all along with an automail shop. Not that everyone doesn't pitch in and do their part to help," he added quickly. Ed looked up at the sign hanging above the door and nearly laughed at the insanely long name for the house.

"Kristine Haines' Sanctuary for Those Rejected by Society?" Ed read off with a slight laugh. "Isn't that a bit of a mouthful?" Thomas grinned and looked up at the sign, even though he knew perfectly well what it said.

"We call it 'Kissters' for short," Tomas told the two brothers. "K.H.S.T.R.S. Kissters. Or sometimes we call it 'House of the Freaks,' just for kicks." He then turned towards the house. "I think we've dawdled outside long enough," he proclaimed, "Let's go inside. And remember – don't step on any cracks, or you'll be sorry."

The two Elrics looked at Al's large feet at the same time, both worrying about how large the spaces between the cracks were. Al sighed slightly and turned to the door.

"See Brother, sometimes being small has its advantages," Al told him. Ed froze and looked up at his brother with angry yellow eyes.

"What makes you say that?! Are you referring to me?!"

"O-of course not!" Al stammered quickly. "I'm just saying that small people must have the advantage when it comes to walking around this house! The bigger you are, the bigger your feet, and all the more challenging not to step on cracks!" Ed narrowed his eyes, but didn't yell at Al a second time before stepping in the house and jumping across the floor nimbly. Luckily the floor right by the door was rather large boards of wood, making it not too difficult for Al to follow after his brother.

Both brothers gasped at the sight of the room as soon as they walked in. The entire room had automail hanging from nearly any place that _could _have automail hang from it. Assorted legs sat on the floor near the walls, Arms hung from the ceiling, and various inner mechanisms sat on the counter and workbench near the wall.

"She's pretty good," Al said as he looked at an arm close to his eye level. Ed carefully walked to other side of the room and looked at a leg propped up against the workbench.

"Hey, Al, look at this!" he said as he leaned in towards the leg interestedly. Al carefully crouched down to a level that wouldn't disturb any of the automail and looked at where Ed was pointing.

"She even does tattoos for automail," Ed said as he looked at the leg. A large portion of the leg had been carefully painted with the Jolly Rodger. Instead of the leg being the usual metallic silver, almost all of it had been painted black while the skull and crossbones had remained silver. Al carefully turned and looked at some of the other automail, and noticed a black arm sticking out among the others. He carefully made his way towards it with Ed following him curiously.

"What do you think this one is?" Al asked when they were standing in front of the dark arm. It was almost completely black, except for a few silver spots scattered across the arm in a random pattern.

"It's the night sky," Ed said after a moment of examination. "See, here's The Alchemist, Cortier," he said as he pointed at a cluster of dots. **(2)**

"Remember how we used to love stories about Cortier?" Al laughed slightly as he looked at the other constellations on the arm. "How he always managed to save his true love from death, even though she didn't love him back…"

"I was always more into the parts where he killed the monsters," Ed said uninterestedly. "The parts with the girl always moved so much slower. Hey," he said suddenly and pointed to an automail leg with a dragon tattooed on it, "Do you think Winry'd kill me if I got one of these?"

"Probably," Al laughed. "First she'd kill you for vandalizing her 'masterpiece,' and then she'd probably kill you for seeing another automail mechanic."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Ed sighed and straightened. "But you gotta admit, these are pretty damn cool."

"Yeah," Al said as he looked around the shop. "She should submit some of these to an art show. I bet she'd win something. She's really creative." Ed nodded and the room fell silent, allowing them to hear hushed voices behind a wooden door. Ed looked up at Al with a slightly evil smirk before walking over and silently placing his ear against the door.

"Brother!" Al hissed. Ed just shook his head and held a finger to his lips, making Al sigh and turn back to looking at automail.

"Have you told him yet?" A female voice asked. Ed couldn't be completely sure, but he was guessing that it wasn't Kris.

"It's none of you business," Thomas growled. "I'll tell him when I'm ready, and not a minute sooner."

"But don't you think he has a right to know?" the female voice insisted.

"You know how hard it is to get just a minute alone with Ed?" Thomas sighed loudly. Ed jerked suddenly as he realized that they were talking about him. The person Thomas had to tell something to was _him_.

"Besides," Thomas continued, "Even if I did work up the guts to talk to him, he probably wouldn't understand."

"I bet you two hundred _sens_ he would understand more than you give him credit for," the female voice tried.

"Look, I think I know him better than you do," Thomas snapped, "Especially considering that you've never even met him. In fact, I would bet _a thousand__sens_ he's standing at the door listening to us argue right now, and he'll probably be even more suspicious of me now than he was before." Ed paled slightly as he realized that he was doing exactly what Thomas predicted, but didn't move from his spot by the door. "Nice going, Harley," Thomas sighed. "I finally managed to earn a bit of his trust and now it's probably all going to be gone again."

"Your entire argument is based on the assumption that he's actually listening at the door," Harley retorted. "And I bet you could gain all that trust right back if you just went out there and told him the truth."

"_The truth_?" Thomas snorted. "Since when has _the truth_ done me any good?"

"Since-" Harley started, but then gave up with a sigh. "Fine. You know what? Have it your way. But the only people you're hurting is yourself and those two brothers out there who will have to come face to face with reality sooner or later. Oh, and little Benjamin too, since you haven't told him either. You can't all kept living in this web of lies. It may seem fine now, but sooner or later it's all going to come crashing in around you. It's better to just get it over with now before you're in too deep."

"Whatever," Thomas sighed. "It's my life, just let me live it, Harley. Now, where did Kris and Ben go?"

"Just tell him how scared you were," Harley persisted.

"Kris and Ben?" Thomas tried again.

"Kitchen," Harley replied icily. "Baking cookies."

"Thank you," Thomas said and then paused. "I _will _tell them, you know. Really."

"When?" Harley asked.

"Soon," Thomas sighed. "As soon as I work up enough courage to and I actually have a minute alone with Ed." Harley sighed and then the room fell silent again.

Ed pulled away from the door with his eyebrows creased in concentration. Hearing the conversation had left him even more confused than he was before. Thomas had some big secret he was hiding from them because he was 'scared.' Ed had thought a big part of the mystery of Thomas had been solved when Thomas had told them about his past, but the was obviously something he had still kept from them. And it was something big, by the sound of it.

"Hey, you guys want to come in?" a girl asked as she poked her head in the room. Ed jerked as if he had been caught spying and looked over in the direction her voice had just come from.

The girl was dressed completely in black, except for artistic holes cut in the clothing that revealed a hot pink cloth underneath. On top of that she wore a leather jacket with pink flames running up the sides.

And then it looked like she had crammed every piece of jewelry possible onto her body. Her neck looked like it might snap soon with all the different metal necklaces hanging from it. On top of that, she had more piercings in her ears than Winry, along with a pierced lip.

But the most vivid part of her outfit was her hair. It went down to her waist and was dyed a hot pink to match the rest of her outfit. She certainly wouldn't be hard to lose in a crowd.

"Are you… Harley?" Ed asked as he looked her over. Sure, the voice matched the one he had heard earlier, but there was no way this could be the same concerned friend Thomas had been talking to a few minutes ago.

"Damn," Harley muttered and smiled playfully. "You _were _listening at the door. Now I'll have to pay Thomas a thousand _sens_. That sucks." Ed felt blood rush to his cheeks and knew that Al would be glaring at him from behind. Busted.

"So you want to actually come in the actual house, or what?" Harley persisted. Ed was a little hesitant to go hang around Thomas when he would know that Ed had been eavesdropping. It must have shown on his face, because Harley grinned at him and added, "Come to the dark side, Ed, we have cookies."

"Okay," Ed said a little hesitantly and took a step towards her. Freshly baked cookies _did_ sound good. Harley's grin got bigger and she then looked up at Al.

"What about you, Unicorn?" she asked, and Al unconsciously touched a hand to the large horn on his forehead. "You want some hot chocolate chip cookies?"

"I'm not hungry," Al answered automatically.

"Well, then come in and socialize with the rest of us, Unicorn," Harley demanded. Ed knew that Al would come to talk with everybody, so he quietly left to get some cookies while they were still hot. Al saw Ed leave and paled a little at the thought of talking to a girl all by himself. Normally Ed was there for at least mental support. He didn't usually support Al by actually continuing the conversation with the girl.

Harley's eyebrows creased and she looked up at Al. "Hey, you don't mind if a call you that, do you?" she asked suddenly. "I forgot what your real name was. I'll stop calling you Unicorn if you don't like it."

"No, it's okay," Al said quickly. "It's way better than being called Trash Can." Harley cocked her head and looked at him for a second before she burst out laughing. Soon Al was laughing with her, not able to resist after hearing her merry laugh. It was the kind of laugh that made you want to just laugh along with it. When they finally calmed down, Al took a few steps towards the door to go to the kitchen with Harley.

"I like you, Unicorn," Harley declared suddenly, and then playfully knocked a fist against Al's arm. "You're cute." She smiled at him as she started playing with her hair, first twisting a strand around her pointer finger, and then just brushing all her air over her left shoulder.

Al knew that he would have been blushing at that moment if he had a body. HHarley walked ahead of him as he stood beside the doorway, revealing a large pink dragon on the back of her jacket.

"Hey, that looks like the one on that automail we saw!" Al said suddenly as he recognized the dragon. Harley turned back and grinned at him.

"Well, that's probably because I drew both of them," she said simply.

"You're the automail artist?!" Al said in surprise. "But I thought that Kris-" he started, but Harley shook her head vigorously.

"Kris just makes the automail," she told him. "I'm the one who tattoos it for her customers. My paint's a special chemical mix. When it's painted on metal and then coated with a clear layer of paint, it'll last for years. But when I apply a special solution to it, the paint just comes right off. Now come in the kitchen and talk to everyone else," she said suddenly, "it's not fair for me to hog you all to myself." And with that, she walked in the direction of the kitchen. Her hair fell from her shoulder and streamed out behind her in long pink waves.

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**(1) **If you've seen Hana Kimi, think of the "you have an interesting aura" kid. Yeah.

**(2) **Like Hercules, only not as buff.

Edward: Wait a minute… -peers intently at Ed- You have golden eyes.

Ed: SO?! What, am I an official member of the golden-eye-club now?!

Edward: Perhaps…

AdventureAddict: Um… Not like _that_… -pats Ed on the head- Edward-meow-meow here is just part cat.

Ed: I'M NOT A CAT!

Kairi Angel: Nyoro

Ed: The hell does that mean?!

Kairi Angel: I dunno. Hopin' you knew.

Frodo: She said 'My pants are on backwards!'

-everyone stares at Frodo-

Frodo: What?

Kairi Angel: … 'Kay.

Edward: I'm going to leave now…

AdventureAddict: Nooo! I won't let you! –grabs Edward's leg-

Edward: Do you honestly think you can stop me?

AdventureAddict: Yes! I am the almighty author!

Ed: Stop reminding me…

Kairi Angel: She wasn't talking to you.

Edward: -picks Addict off easily and glides out-

AdventureAddict: … -cries-

Ed: Not _this_ again.

Frodo: -cries- Pretty-man is gone!

Kairi Angel: -hugs Frodo and weeps-

**(Oh, and by the way, we passed The New Neighbors' one year anniversary. It was October Third. Heehee.)**


	14. Heart to Heart

Ergh. I finished the next chap (yes, already. Sigh.) and I've run out of author's notes to put in! So this whole chunk at the beginning is _empty_! (Addict looks around and realizes that the readers are watching her anxiously) Um… So… It's been really hot over here… Er… Read any good books lately?

**As you all know, AdventureAddict does not in any way own any part of Fullmetal Alchemist. **

On wit' da show!

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Chapter Fourteen – Heart-to-Heart

Al sat silently on the sofa and tried to distract his mind by looking out the darkened window. He had been grateful for the offer to sleep in the carpeted living room rather than the bedrooms with tiny boards that would be impossible for him to walk on without stepping on any cracks.

But now he was sorry that he was out here while Ed was in a bedroom. He could hear Ed yelling for Robyn in his sleep, and Al desperately wished he could be there to comfort Ed. But even if the people in the house weren't waking up from Ed's screaming, surely they would wake up to that paired with clanking armor?

"Hey, Al," A groggy voice said from the direction of the hallway. Al looked up to see a sleepy Thomas standing by the wall. "I can't sleep," Thomas explained while looking down at the ground. "I figured I'd go out and get some fresh air."

"Oh. Okay," Al said softly, still distracted by Ed's anguished cries. The two boys fell silent for a moment and listened to Ed desperately pleading with Robyn to back away from a pit of boiling lava, or at least, that was what it sounded like he was trying to coax her away from.

"Why don't you go comfort him?" Thomas finally suggested softly. "It sounds like he's really in pain. Claudia's asleep, so she won't notice if you step on the cracks."

"I know," Al replied, still looking worriedly in the direction of Ed's room. "But won't my clanking wake them up?"

"I'd bet everyone except the kids are awake right now," Thomas said with a bitter laugh. "I'm the soundest sleeper in the bunch. I think they're all just trying to be nice. They probably have all guessed that he's hurting inside, since we've all cried like that at some point in our lives. None of them want to hurt him any more than he's already been hurt. Please, just go help him, Al."

"Okay," Al agreed quickly and then walked in the direction of Ed's room. Thomas sighed and went outside to sit on the porch, look at the stars, and hope that was enough to distract him.

"It's okay, Brother," Al said as he hurriedly crouched by Ed's bed and tried to rub his back as gently as someone with two large metal hands could. "It's okay," Al soothed, "I'm here, Brother. Everything's going to be all right."

"Robyn," Ed moaned and clutched his pillow tighter. "Please don't do it… I don't want you to get hurt… stop standing out there like some lunatic and come back here… it's safer here… please, Robyn…"

Well, at least he wasn't yelling anymore. Al sighed and continued rubbing Ed's back just like their mother had done when they were little. Suddenly, Al had an idea and he leaned in closer to Ed.

"It's okay, Brother," he said softly. "Look, she's coming back here right now. She's safe now, see?" Al hoped that what he had heard about people being able to influence others' dreams really was true.

"Robyn…" Ed sighed as he turned onto his side and smiled. "Don't scare me like that… I thought you were going to die…" Al stopped rubbing Ed's back and relaxed just before Harley came in the room.

"What did you do?" she whispered with a quick glance in Ed's direction before she focused completely on Al. "I didn't think he was ever going to stop."

"Sorry," Al said nervously, but Harley just shrugged, making Al think that what Thomas had said earlier really was true. "I just rubbed his back," Al told her. "And then I told him that Robyn wasn't really in danger."

"Ah," Harley nodded, "Dream manipulation. When it works, it works like a charm. Of course, some people don't let in influences from around them while they're sleeping, and if that happens, you're screwed."

"Yeah," Al agreed softly. "Sorry Brother woke you up," he added with a glance towards Ed, "I don't think he's going to be anymore trouble if you want to go back to sleep."

"Eh, it's not worth it," Harley shrugged. "I'd normally wake up in an hour anyway, I might as well just stay up. You want to go sit in the living room?"

"Um…" Al glanced nervously at Ed and then back at Harley. "Sure. Brother will be fine."

"Of course," Harley agreed, and the two teens walked out of the room.

"You said you would normally wake up in an hour," Al said slowly as Harley walked across the room and sat on the couch. "So are you saying that you normally wake up at five o'clock in the morning?"

"Yeah," Harley shrugged and motioned for Al to sit next to her. "I guess I'm just a morning person. And it's nice to wake up and get some time to yourself when you're sharing a house with so many other people."

"I guess-" Al started, but was interrupted by a loud shout from Ed in his room. Al jerked worriedly towards the sound, but no other noises came from the room so he turned back to Harley.

"What do you think-" Al started, but was once again cut off by Ed, except this time he actually walked into the living room. His long hair fell messily around his shoulders and all he was wearing was a pair of pants and the guitar pick necklace.

"Brother?" Al said worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Al," Ed said quickly, even though his voice didn't make it sound like he was 'fine.' "I just can't sleep. I think I'm going to go outside and get a little fresh air," he muttered before walking out the front door. Al looked over at Harley, who just shrugged.

"So," Harley said eagerly as she leaned her elbows on her knees. "I'm kinda curious about why you haven't taken that armor of yours off yet. Care to enlighten me?"

"Well, um…" Al looked away from Harley and started nervously twiddling his large fingers. "I don't think Brother will be very happy if I told you…"

"You two are alchemists, right?" Harley asked. Al nodded slowly, wondering if she had somehow managed to figure it out by herself. "Then you know all about that 'Equivalent Exchange' stuff. I promise I'll tell you more about me if you tell me more about you. And the longer you talk, the longer I'll talk," Harley told him. Al still seemed nervous, so she quickly added, "You don't even have to tell me why you're that way. I was just wondering why you were still in that armor at four in the morning."

"It's fine," Al assured her softly. "I would be just as curious if I were in your place. It's just that the history behind it is…"

"Painful?" Harley suggested, and Al nodded.

"I suppose I could show you…" Al said slowly. "But please don't be scared." He then lifted off his helmet slowly, fearful of what Harley would think.

"You're hollow?" Harley said after a moment of consideration.

"Yes," Al said softly, and then put his helmet back on. He looked down at his large hands, wishing that he could actually grimace at them. "My soul is bound to this armor. I can see and hear, but I can't touch, smell or taste."

"Ouch," Harley winced. "But if you're just a soul-" she stopped for a moment to think and then laughed slightly.

"What?" Al asked curiously.

"Nothing," Harley waved it off with a flick of her wrist. "It's just- When I first met you, there was just something about you I liked. I guess it's just kinda nice to know that I liked the actual important part of you, and not just something silly, like how you looked. What did you first think of me when we first met?"

"Um," Al tried to think quickly, not even sure how the conversation had changed direction so quickly. "I thought you were… nice."

"Nice?" Harley repeated, raising one eyebrow.

"And… cute?" Al tried again.

"Cute," Harley affirmed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Okay," Al sighed. "I thought you'd make a good friend." Harley smiled and uncrossed her arms.

"I guess that 'good friend' certainly isn't a bad thing to be," she sighed. Al looked up at her, but she didn't need his attention to know she had to explain. "Since you're basically just a soul – no offence or anything – I figured you'd probably be able to pick out the traits of others' souls much better than normal people."

"Oh," Al said as if he understood completely. He definitely understood the reasoning behind her logic – it was an interesting idea, really – he just didn't understand why it was so important to her to have a good soul.

"Do you mind if I tell you about my past later?" Harley said as she stood up and stretched her arms. "I think I'm going to go make some breakfast."

"Okay," Al agreed easily, and Harley turned to go to the kitchen.

"Well, are you coming or not?" she asked with a glance back towards Al. "You're not going to let me cook scrambled eggs without anyone to keep me company, are you?" Al would have grinned if he could as he stood up and followed Harley into the kitchen.

T-H-I-S--I-S--A--D-I-V-I-D-I-N-G--L-I-N-E

Ed sighed as he closed the door behind him and let the cool night air brush across his bare chest. The sky was starting to get lighter, but the sun still hadn't showed up, so it was still reasonably dark outside.

"So you actually woke up," Ed heard Thomas say, and turned to see him sitting on the railing of the porch and looking out across the dark backyard. "Sure sounded like one hell of a dream you were having." Ed blushed slightly at the thought that Thomas had heard him screaming for Robyn, but then he walked over and sat on the railing next to Thomas.

"It didn't even make sense," Ed muttered under his breath. "I don't even know why the hell we were in a _volcano_." Thomas chuckled slightly and then the two fell silent again.

"You know," Thomas looked over at Ed after a minute. "Sleeping with a necklace on could choke you." Ed scowled slightly and rubbed a pick between his fingers.

"I doubt it," Ed muttered. "I've been sleeping for months with this thing on, and nothing bad has happened to me."

"So far," Thomas retorted, and then they were silent again.

"I really was listening in the other day," Ed finally said after complete silence.

"I wouldn't expect anything else from you," Thomas chuckled. Ed waited for him to say something else, but after a while realized that Thomas wasn't going to say anything more.

"So," Ed said slowly, "You got a minute alone with me, are you going to tell me this 'big secret?'" Thomas took a deep breath and looked up at the sky.

"I wish I could," he said slowly. "I really do." He then turned and looked at Ed. "I'm sorry. I _want_ to tell you, it's just really hard. I don't even know how to start. But I will tell you. You have my word on that."

"And just how good is your word?" Ed asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Pretty good, I'd say," Thomas said with a laugh. "Here, we can even shake on it," he offered and held out his hand. Ed regarded it curiously before reaching out and shaking his hand with Thomas. He then climbed off the railing and turned to go in the house.

"Ed, wait," Thomas said quickly, and then reached down and grabbed a battered piece of paper off the ground. "This fell out of your pocket," he said holding it towards Ed. Ed grabbed quickly, even though he knew that Thomas had already seen that it was the picture of him, Robyn and Al in the hospital so long ago.

"You should smile like that more often," Thomas said softly as Ed refolded the picture and put it back in his pocket. "A smile suits you better than a scowl." Ed rolled his eyes.

"Ed!" a female voice suddenly called out. Ed and Thomas both turned around saw Robyn standing in the darkness of the backyard. She smiled at Ed, then ran up the porch and threw her arms around him in a tight hug. Ed immediately pushed her off him and scowled.

"Envy," Ed spat angrily. Somehow, he jut knew it wasn't Robyn. Something about her felt…_different_ from Envy. And Ed realized that this time was different from Resembool because now he wasn't quite as desperate to see Robyn. Something had changed, and Ed desperately hoped it wasn't his feelings for Robyn.

"Aw," Envy pouted, but didn't change back to his normal form. "How'd you know it was me?"

"My Spidey-sense," Ed retorted, but then realized that nobody in Amestris knew what a Spidey-sense even was. "Never mind," Ed muttered under his breath.

"Just go away, Envy," Thomas said angrily as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"Oh," Envy said as he turned to look at Thomas in surprise. "That's right. I forgot that you know the Davenport girl too." Ed quickly sucked in a breath of air and looked at Thomas in surprise. How could Thomas possibly know Robyn?

"What, you didn't tell the pipsqueak?" Envy smirked as he looked between Ed and Thomas. He then turned and focused on Ed. "Your friend here always gets tense whenever I say the name _Robyn Davenport_," Envy said with an evil smile. Ed felt his shoulders tense, and then he ran up and grabbed Thomas' collar.

"How the hell do you know about Robyn?" Ed growled. Thomas flinched slightly, but looked over at Envy.

"How the hell do the homunculi know about Robyn?" he replied. Ed and Thomas both looked over at Envy, who grinned innocently and then ran so fast it looked like he had vanished.

"Guess he doesn't want to tell us," Thomas chuckled, but then gasped as Ed tightened his grip.

"Tell. Me. Now," Ed snarled angrily.

"I had a dream about her," Thomas choked out while clutching at his throat.

"What kind of dream?"

"I saw her," Thomas gasped, "I saw her at a huge gate." Ed's eyes widened and he instantly let go of Thomas.

"The gate?" Ed whispered softly, and then looked back at Thomas. "Do your dreams ever come true?"

"Not usually," Thomas answered as he rubbed at his now red throat.

"Usually?" Ed snapped, his eyes flashing angrily. "What the hell do you mean by _usually_?!"

"Well," Thomas said slowly, "Before I met Kris I had I dream about her saying she would help me, and then I had a dream about Al saying he'd be glad to see me later."

"Dammit!" Ed said angrily and his hands clenched into fists. "So the _possibility _exists that Robyn is or will be trapped at the gate. Dammit," he repeated, and then walked back in the house, slamming the door behind him.

"Why the hell did I say that?" Thomas muttered and held a hand to his forehead. "I am _such_ an idiot."

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Oh great, another author's note. I'm just not in the mood to write much here. Hmmm. Well, today there was no school because it's Columbus Day. That was kinda nice. I slept in late and then woke up and finished this chap. Blame the holiday for the lacking author's notes. If there was school I probably would have still finished _and_ written a note with Kairi. Da end.


	15. The Spirit of Robyn

AdventureAddict: There will be no lacking in the Author's Note this time! Ha ha!

Ed: Unless you lose it again.

AdvbentureAddict: Shut up.

Kairi Angel: Plus you forgot we had to do one of these until the last ten minutes of class. Now leave me be. I play piano now.

Ed: What the-? –piano music heard in background-

Kairi Angel: Nyoyo.

Ed: The hell are you piano?

Kairi Angel: 'Cause. –plays in irresistible lullaby mode-

Ed: Wha-? –falls asleep-

AdventureAddict: Gaw! He's so cute when he's sleeping!

Ed: -grumbles- damn… fangirls…

**As you all know, AdventureAddict does not in any way own any part of Fullmetal Alchemist. **

On wit' da show!

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Chapter Fifteen – The Spirit of Robyn

"Ed?" Robyn stood up suddenly, looking at the see through figure in front of her. She then turned quickly to Al. "Do you see him this time? Please, tell me you see him!"

"I'm sorry, Robyn," Al said after turning his head up to look where she was looking. "Just another dream. He wants _you_."

"Then he should save me like he's supposed to!" Robyn cried angrily, and then started waving her hand in front of Ed. "Ed! I'm right here, Ed! Ed, please listen to me!" His transparent golden gaze just kept staring straight ahead.

"If you're not going to pay attention to me, then just wake up!" Robyn growled angrily, snapping her finger in front of Ed's face. Ed looked around in surprise and then suddenly vanished.

"Well, I guess that settles it," Robyn said determinedly. "I'll see you later, Al."

"Where are you going?" Al asked worriedly.

"Out of here," Robyn said firmly. "If Ed's not going to save me, I'll just have to save myself."

"I'm sure Brother wants to get you out of here," Al said softly.

"I would bet he does," Robyn said with a slight smile. "But I can't spend eternity waiting here for him just because he wants to be the knight in shining armor. I'm going to have to save myself."

"Okay," Al agreed reluctantly. "Stay safe."

"I will."

"I'll happy to see you again," Al added with a slight smile. Robyn smiled back, nodded and gave him a thumbs up before walking off without any clue of where she was going. She just knew she had to get out of the hell known as the Gate.

T-H-I-S--I-S--A--D-I-V-I-D-I-N-G--L-I-N-E

"You're missing a screw," Kris proclaimed after Ed showed her how his arm wasn't working. She then walked over to her workbench and opened a drawer filled with many screws, each with a different label on them.

"You aren't even going to check his automail yourself?" Thomas questioned. He was sitting in a wooden chair with his leg propped up on a footstool to make his automail leg easier to access. On top of that, his pant leg had been pulled back to the point where it revealed an inch of the flesh part of his leg. Ed noticed with slight surprise that Thomas had lost his leg in almost exactly the same spot Ed had lost his leg, except the opposite leg. "How do you know that's what's wrong with it?" Thomas added. Kris frowned and then walked back up to Thomas.

"Who's the mechanic, asshole?!" she demanded angrily as she shook the screw in front of him. Thomas just scowled at her. "Answer the damn question!" Kris demanded. "Who's the mechanic?!"

"You are," Thomas mumbled under his breath, making sure not to make eye contact with anyone in the room.

"Louder!"

"You are!" Thomas yelled back, now snapping his head up to glare at Kris. Kris exhaled loudly through her nostrils and then went back to Ed.

"This is an A-08," she told him. "Without this you're damned. Your arm can last for a little bit without it, but then it stops moving except for the fingers. Usually people loose it because of a hard impact against something."

"Al threw me against some rocks," Ed muttered softly. Meanwhile his thoughts were wandering as he tried to think of a way to get Robyn away from the gate. It was too much. One minute she was dead, the next minute there was the possibility she was alive, but in extreme danger.

"Well, that was pretty damn stupid!" Kris snapped suddenly, making Ed jerk his head back up as he tried to remember the last thing he had said. "Your automail mechanic is one shit of a mechanic and you just abuse their work like that?!" Ed sank lower into his seat. He had seen this type of conversation too many times before. You're abusing your automail, blah, blah, blah, shouldn't be so careless, blah, blah, blah, proper maintenance, blah, blah, blah, wrench makes contact with skull. He quickly learned that Kris had a different weapon of choice than Winry, however.

Slap!

Ed's eyes widened in shock and he gingerly touched a hand to the reddening handprint on his cheek.

"Treat automail with respect, you damn asshole!" Kris yelled at him. Ed decided for once to do the wimpy thing – nod meekly in agreement. If Kris decided to take over the world someday, they were all screwed.

"I can fix your automail without taking it off," Kris said, instantly changing to a brighter mood. "It should take about five minutes. You, however-" she turned and glared at Thomas, "You have completely tangled the wires inside your automail. I'm going to have to take the whole thing off and rework all the mechanisms inside."

"Sorry?" Thomas tried hesitantly. "But look on the bright side – if I hadn't messed my automail up, I wouldn't have been able to come out here to see you."

"You should have stayed in Central, asshole!" Kris spat back. She then reached down and swiftly pulled of Thomas' right leg, instantly making it much harder for him to walk.

"Can't you just use one of the automail legs you have in your shop to replace his?" a voice asked from the doorway. Kris looked up and smiled at Al, who was hesitantly stepping into the room. Ed, meanwhile, was once again lost in trying to think up a plan to rescue Robyn.

"No good," Kris replied as she hefted up Thomas' leg and then carried it over to her workbench. "The wires within the automail are made specifically for different customers. So each of those legs in the shop is for a different customer. Can't go switching them up," she told Al as she carefully set Thomas' leg on her workbench and unscrewed the top plate. "I usually make back up replacements just in case, but I hadn't gotten around to Thomas' yet. Now everything else has to wait while I fix _his majesty's_ automail."

"Meanwhile, I am still waiting for a replacement leg over here!" Thomas called out. Kris stuck out her tongue and held up the middle finger on her left hand as she used the right hand to look through the different wires.

"Damn, you crapped that up," Kris muttered as she grabbed a spring-powered leg from the corner and twisted it onto Thomas' stump of a leg.

"And wear shorts until your automail is fixed!" Kris scolded as she eyed Thomas' rolled up pants.

"But it's cold!" Thomas protested. "Who wears shorts in September?"

"Automail patients," Kris snapped back. "Unlike your automail, your pants will get caught in that leg," she said, pointing to the leg with springs in plain view. "So if you give a damn about your life, you _will_ wear shorts, or you _will_ be a pile of shit the morning after you wreck that leg. I already got enough things to fix without an asshole like you throwing a wrench into the works."

"Um, could I borrow some oil?" Al asked nervously. "I kinda need to-"

"It's on my workbench, on the very bottom shelf," Kris replied crisply. She then pulled the A-08 screw out from her pants pocket and turned to Ed, who seemed to be completely lost in thought. "You! Get on the bed!" she snapped at Ed, who looked up at her with wide eyes.

"So I can fix your automail, you dumbass," Kris said with a sigh and a roll of her eyes. Thomas covered his mouth with one hand to stop himself from laughing out loud. Ed glared at Thomas and then hesitantly went over to the bed in the corner of the room and laid on top of it.

"This is pretty nice," Al commented as he sat on the floor and began to oil himself. "You've got a shop downstairs and then a whole workroom up here. It certainly gives you plenty of room to work. Winry always had to use the operation room if she wanted a patient to use a bed. Of course, she could have used a bedroom if she really wanted to…" Al trailed off uncertainly while Kris made the adjustments to Ed's arm. "She would have loved to have a big room like this to work in."

"It kind of helps if you know you want to build automail and help all the freaks of the world before you build the house," Thomas said with a slight chuckle. Kris snapped her head to look at him and raised a fist threateningly. "What?" Thomas asked innocently. Kris made a sound in the back of her throat that almost sounded like a growl, but then turned back to her work on Ed's automail.

"Can't you just put the screw back in?" Ed sighed exasperatedly. He desperately wanted to get away from everyone and try to think of a plan to deal with the situation with Robyn, since it was getting increasingly difficult to concentrate with all the activity around him.

"No," Kris said sternly. "Everything else around it also has to be tightened. Just lay there like a good little boy and let me fix you," she added, shoving Ed's head roughly into the pillow.

"Wimble?!" **(1)** Ed said angrily, but his mouth was too full of pillow to speak properly. Al sighed and kept oiling himself.

"Hey," a voice said from the doorway, and Al turned to see a young boy with messy brown hair standing there. "My name's Peter," the boy said with a smile. "Is it really true that you're hollow?"

"What?" Ed and Al both looked up in surprise. "Where did you hear that?" Al asked worriedly.

"I heard you and Harley talking last night," the boy shrugged.

"You told Harley?!" Ed snapped, making Al wince slightly.

"I didn't tell her why I was like this!" Al said quickly. "And I didn't think anybody else would be able to hear!"

"May I please see?" Peter asked calmly. Al looked over at Peter briefly and then back at Ed. Ed just sighed and rolled his face back into the pillow, blocking out the rest of the world. Al sighed and then slowly pulled off his helmet to show Peter.

"Why is there a boy inside of you?" Peter asked calmly, making both Ed and Al jerk up in surprise.

"What?" Al asked in surprise. "What do you mean? There isn't a boy inside of me."

"There," Kris said quickly to Ed. "All done. Was that so hard?"

"Yes there is," Peter protested. "He's got tan hair, and gray eyes." Ed jerked up into a sitting position in surprise. He still didn't see anyone sitting inside Al, but that description sounded awfully familiar.

"Is he a ghost? Is that why only I can see him?" Peter asked innocently.

"Not a ghost," Ed said quickly. "If he was a ghost, then he would be dead." Ed climbed off the bed and walked up to Al, looking right at the blood rune. "I guess that your spirit shows even though you have this physical body," Ed said slowly to Al. "That's weird. I guess Peter really can see spirits. Hey!" he was hit with sudden inspiration and turned to Peter. "Do you think you could find someone?"

"Maybe," Peter shrugged. "Who?" Ed dug in his pocket and carefully pulled out the worn picture of him, Al and Robyn back in the hospital.

"Her," Ed said as he carefully held the picture towards Peter. "Her name is Robyn. Do you think you could find her spirit… ghost… whatever?" Peter looked worriedly around the room.

"I think I'm going to go outside. I never really like it when Peter goes ghost hunting," Thomas said before hobbling out of the room carefully.

"Okay," Peter said slowly, turning back to Ed. Al carefully placed his head back on and Kris left the room without anyone really noticing. Peter then closed his eyes and balled his hands into fists. Two minutes of tense silence passed between the three.

"Found her," Peter murmured softly under his breath. Ed felt his throat constrict at the words, but didn't have much time to think about it before Peter suddenly fell to the floor and started twitching violently.

"What's wrong with him?" Al asked worriedly.

"I don't know Al," Ed muttered softly as he watched Peter writhe on the floor. "What do you think we should do?" he asked. Al was just about to answer when a see-through Robyn appeared next to Peter. Peter immediately stopped twitching and stood up again, grinning broadly.

"Can you see her too?" he asked excitedly. Ed and Al both nodded silently. "I've never been able to make it so that other people can see a spirit!" Peter said excitedly. "That's so cool!"

"I'm sure you'll grow up to be a wonderful psychic," Robyn said with a smile.

"Robyn?" Ed said softly, and she turned back to Ed and smiled warmly at him.

"Heya, Sunshine," she said, her voice wavering a little. "Hi, Al," she added, looking behind Ed.

"How are you-" Ed started, but then shook his head in disbelief. "Where the hell are you?" Robyn frowned and her eyebrows creased thoughtfully.

"I'm trying to get back to you," she said after a moment.

"You've seen the Gate, haven't you?" Ed said suddenly, making Al look at him in surprise. "Robyn-" he took a step towards her, but Robyn just took another step backwards.

"Don't touch me," Robyn said softly. "Yes, Ed, I've seen the Gate, and yes, I can do alchemy without a transmutation circle, just like you and Al." **(2)**

"Why can't I touch you?" Ed questioned. "Won't I just go through you?"

"No," Robyn shook her head vigorously. "You'll touch me, but it will be really painful. It will be like I'm trying to possess you, and if we touch long enough, I might actually do it, even if it is an accident."

"You can possess me if it means you'll be alive again," Ed whispered softly, hanging his head so that his bangs hid his face.

"Brother-" Al said worriedly, turning to look over at him.

Robyn took a few steps forward and placed two fingers under Ed's chin, making him look her in the eye again. Ed grit his teeth and balled his hands into tight fists, but otherwise didn't let it show that he was in extreme pain. Robyn smiled sadly and let go of him again, making sure to put a safe distance between them.

"No possession," she said firmly. "One – I wouldn't want to put you in pain like that. Two – if I possess you, I lose any claim I might have on my own body. Three – possession is only for desperate spirits, and I'm not a desperate spirit. And four – no offense, but I _really _don't want to possess a male body." Ed smiled slightly at the last comment.

"Okay," Ed agreed. "No possession. But I promise-"

"_We_ promise," Al interrupted, making Ed look over at him.

"Right. _We_ promise that we will find you someday, no matter what it takes."

"I hope you can," Robyn smiled sadly.

"You!" a sudden ecstatic voice interrupted them. The three teens turned and look over at the doorway, where Ben had just come in. "You!" he repeated happily as he looked at Robyn. "My angel! You're the one who led me to the park where Thomas found me!"

"So that _was_ you!" Ed said suddenly, remembering the conversation between Thomas and Ben he had overheard at the Rockbells' so long ago. Robyn looked worriedly between Ed and Ben, and then suddenly vanished into nothing.

"What happened?" Ed said quickly as he ran forward and swiped a hand through the air. He felt nothing except a slight tingling in his fingers. "Where did she go?"

"She lost her concentration," Peter said calmly. "She went back to wherever she was before. Hey, Ben, did you see that?" He said, suddenly switching topics. "I made a spirit visible to others! Isn't that cool?"

"Dammit," Ed muttered, hitting his left fist against the wall. "We were actually getting somewhere. You'll have to answer to me someday!" Ed shouted, looking up at the ceiling as if Robyn would be floating up there.

He could have sworn that he heard Robyn's laughter echoing off the walls.

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**(1)** He was trying to say 'little,' in case you couldn't figure that out.

**(2) **In the manga (for those who may not have read it) anyone who's seen the Gate and can remember it can do alchemy just by clapping, like Ed. Sop once Al remembers, he can also do alchemy this way. I felt like this theory made more sense than the anime's "wtf? He can clap and make stuff go boom?" so I decided to use this idea instead. I never really understood the anime's version of the Gate very well anyway… Any explanation you guys have on the anime FMA Gate would be very appreciated. XD

Kairi Angel: Fluffy is sleeping still.

AdventureAddict: Fluffy. Hee. –pokes Ed-

Ed: Meh… geroff…

Kairi Angel: gets whipped cream on his head- -tickles nose-

Ed: -le slap-

AdventureAddict: -whispers- Let's put his hair in pigtails. You know how angry he'd get at us? XD

Kairi Angel: I don't. But he sure does. :3

Ed: -mumbles incoherently-

AdventureAddict: Well, I guess that's all-

Frodo: Wait! I ahven't put my two cents worth in yet!

AdventureAddict: -sighs- Go ahead.

Frodo: -takes two pennies out of his pocket and throws them. They hit Ed-

Ed: Mmph. Well... aren't you... deep.


	16. Multi Personality Disorder?

AdventureAddict: And it's time once again for that wonderful before-the-chapter tidbit known as the Author's Note.

Ed: Joy.

Kairi Angel and Frodo: Nyan!

AdventureAddict: I'm bored. –looks at Ed- Shorty.

Ed: I'LL FREAKIN' KILL YOU! –chases after AdventureAddict-

Kairi Angel: Boring!

Frodo: I could wear Miss Mikuru's skirt again.

Kairi Angel: But that's old!

AdventureAddict: Hey, look! I found a magic lamp! –rub rub- Come out, oh genie with the voice of Robin Williams!

-Genie comes out, but voiced by Jim Gaffagan-

Genie: I'm hungry.

Everyone: …

**As you all know, AdventureAddict does not in any way own any part of Fullmetal Alchemist. **

On wit' da show!

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Chapter Sixteen – Multi-Personality Disorder?

"I wish I could go play with them," Harley said softly as she stared out the window. Everyone except for Harley, Ed and Al had been bundled into jackets to keep them warm from the fall breeze. Al had kindly offered to keep Harley company since Ed was just sulking in his room. The leaves of the trees were already starting to turn color and fall to the ground, and the ground kept making crunching noises as everyone ran around playing Marco Polo.

"Why can't you play with them?" Al asked innocently.

"I can't leave the house, remember?" Harley said. "I just- You know what? I'll show you what happens," she said, suddenly hit with inspiration. "Here," she held her arms out to Al. "Try to bring me outside, okay?"

"Okay," Al said hesitantly. He then opened the door to the backyard and stepped through it before carefully grabbing Harley's arms. He knew that his large metal hands could be very powerful, and he was afraid of hurting Harley. He then tried pulling her outside, but she immediately latched onto the door frame and started screaming.

"Aaaaagh! Let me go!" she screamed shrilly at him before aiming a hard kick at his leg.

"Harley?!" Al said in surprise at the sudden change in mood.

"Let go of me!" Harley shrieked. "Aaaaah! Stop it! Harassment! Harassment! Let go NOW!"

"Okay!" Al said, and then quickly let go of her. Harley immediately fell backwards, suddenly losing the force she had been pulling against.

"Ow… What'd you do that for?" Harley moaned as she stared rubbing at her sore bottom.

"I'm sorry!" Al said quickly, holding a hand out to help her climb to her feet. "But you told me to let go, so I let go!"

"That's what _always_ happens," Harley smiled bitterly. She the sighed and leaned against the wall beside the doorframe. "I wish I could go outside. I'm sick of this damn disorder getting in the way of me living a _life_." She paused and looked up at Al. "Normal people don't stay in one building nearly all their lives. I just want to be normal, you know?"

"So, how did you get here in the first place?" Al asked softly.

"Kris is very strong and has thick skin," Harley laughed. She then paused and looked up at Al. "I suppose it's about time I told you more about my past," she sighed. "After all, you did show me the secret behind your armor."

"My parents didn't know anything was wrong with me when I was born. I appeared to be a normal, healthy baby since my disorder doesn't really make a difference unless people try to make me go outside.

"My mom wasn't very forceful when I was young, so she didn't make me go out shopping with her. She just figured that I was shy and would grow out of it eventually.

"But then the first day of school came along, and then my parents actually did force me to go out of the house. In fact, I ran back inside so many times that my father escorted me to school and told the teacher to keep an eye on me an make sure I didn't sneak out.

"I spent the whole day sitting in the corner while my classmates made new friends, made crafts, and all the other stuff kids normally do on their first day of school. Then my teacher took me home and told my parents that she didn't think I would be able to learn if my behavior stayed the same.

"My parents kept trying to make me go to school, but slowly I got stronger and was able to fight back. Once I hit nine years old they gave up and just started letting me stay at home, no matter how unhealthy they thought it was. I tried to explain to them that I really wanted to go outside, but my body just couldn't seem to let me.

"Then one day my parents finally snapped. They move to a different town, gave me the address, and said that I would be able to join them if I could get to the house myself. I was only fifteen.

I tried to make myself go outside multiple times, but I just couldn't seem to bring myself to do it once I tried walking outside the front door. My food supplies slowly started to dwindle, and I realized that I would starve to death if I didn't leave the house, but I still couldn't bring myself to do it. I was more willing to die a slow painful death than take a step past my front door.

"Kris showed up one day, saying that my neighbors had talked about me. She brought me food from town and kept me company, which was a wonderful change of pace for me.

"The all of a sudden she disappeared one day, with a note saying that she had gone off with hopes of rebuilding lives, including mine. I figured that she had left for good – like my parents – until she unexpectedly showed up again one day. I kicked and fought against her for hour after hour, but somehow she managed to drag me all the way here," Harley said with a slight smile on her face.

"She must have had real faith in me to put up with something like that," Harley laughed slightly. "And my house was falling apart. It's much better for me here."

"I guess that Kris really is a good person," Al said softly as he looked out the window. "I kind of guessed that she was nice since she kind of reminded me of Brother, but I wasn't really sure. She's even _more_ of a potty mouth than Brother, and I didn't even think that was possible."

"Asshole!" Kris suddenly yelled from outside, chasing after Thomas, who had just tagged her. Thomas just threw his head back and laughed while Kris spewed out different death threats.

"Yeah," Harley laughed at the fact that Kris had just proved Al's point. She really was a potty mouth. "And she and Thomas actually have a deeper relationship than most people would think, but it was better before Thomas got attacked by those wolves."

"Really?" Al asked interestedly as he watched Kris knock Thomas to the ground and declare 'tag.' "I would think that she would be grateful that Thomas managed to actually survive the wolves." Harley was silent for a moment before answering.

"Yeah… but I think that doing that automail surgery to him really messed her up. And she just managed to get Thomas back and then he decides to leave again. She tried to hide her pain from the rest of us, but I think she was really torn in two. That was also about when she started using a more…colorful…vocabulary," Harley stopped and looked up at Al, whose face remained as expressionless as ever, but yet still seemed to offer her some comfort.

T-H-I-S--I-S--A--D-I-V-I-D-I-N-G--L-I-N-E

Ed paced back and forth across the room impatiently as he tried to think of a way to at least find Robyn. After talking to her spirit… ghost… whatever, he hadn't really had a good night's sleep. He wanted to sleep, but his mind had been too busy thinking to even try to settle down and rest.

Ed glanced at the bed in his room longingly. It had been a while since he had last slept, and compared to his usual standards of sleeping it felt like he hadn't slept for years. He paused for a minute in his pacing and then decided to sit on the bed, but not sleep. He couldn't sleep just yet, but perhaps sitting on the bed would be more comforting to his aching body than pacing the room like some kind of caged animal.

Ed nearly collapsed backwards onto the bed when he felt the soft material beneath him. It had been _so long_ since he had last slept. He sighed and closed his eyes. If only Robyn was there with him.

"_And what makes you think she isn't here with you already?"_ something deep inside him questioned. _"You did just see her spirit, she could be following you." _

"_Robyn wouldn't follow me without leaving some sort of hint that she was,"_ Ed thought back. He always hated it when he started arguing with himself, but there wasn't usually much he could do about it anyway.

"_And what makes you think that she _hasn't _left clues?"_ his other side reasoned. _"What if you're just so blind you can't see the clues she's left?"_

"_I would notice!"_ Ed replied angrily. _"It's_ Robyn. _I would notice it if she left me clues to find her." _

"_What about Thomas?"_

"_What about him?" _Ed thought with a sigh. _"I don't even see what he has to do with anything." _

"_You always were suspicious of him. And he said he had a dream about Robyn. What if he has some sort of connection to her?" _ the little voice said. Ed's thoughts suddenly stopped as he thought over this piece of information.

"_Nothing to reply to that, huh?"_ the other side of him finally said triumphantly.

"_Shut up," _Ed thought angrily. _"I'm trying to think!"_ Would it even be possible for Thomas to come from that world. Ed knew he had managed to get there because of a potion that had been invented in the future, but would someone else be able to do that? If only there was someway to find out where Thomas really was from and know that he was telling the truth.

"_Some kind of test, huh?" _the other side of Ed chuckled slightly. _"Why don't you just go up to him and say 'bother bother bother bother bother bother?'"_

"_Because that's stupid," _Ed snapped back. _"Besides, even if he is from Robyn's world, he might not have seen Potter Puppet Pals."_

"_That doesn't mean it wouldn't be funny," _his other side laughed. _"Besides, if you're annoying enough, he might tell you something just to get you away." _

"Stop being so idiotic," Ed told himself, this time out loud. _"Even if Thomas is from Robyn's world, it's a very small chance. Like, one to a million, maybe more. There's probably more chance that he's seen The Gate. He's hiding a secret and I'm going to find out." _

"_Whatever," _the other side sighed. _"Just go back to thinking about Robyn. She's way cooler than _Thomas_." _Ed grinned to himself and laid backwards on the bed, trying to remember what it felt like to have Robyn's head resting on his chest. That day in the hospital seemed almost as far away as his State Alchemist exam.

A knock on the door made him jerk up suddenly, ruing the interruption in his thoughts.

"What?" Ed asked crossly. The doorknob turned and then Thomas stepped into the room with a slight smile on his face.

"Why don't you come out and play with everybody else?" Thomas asked. "You seem so lonely up here all by yourself."

"I fine," Ed grunted dispassionately. "I need time to think by myself."

"Well sometimes you can get a lot farther if you have someone to bounce your ideas off of," Thomas told him.

"_Tell me about it," _Ed thought with a sigh, and the other side of him laughed.

"Can I help? Thomas asked, now leaning against the doorframe. Ed sighed and flopped backwards onto the pillow. He could just tell that he wouldn't be able to get rid of this guy.

"Hey, Ed?"

"What?" Ed mumbled and then rolled over so that his face was buried in the pillow.

"Why do you hate me so much?"

"I don't hate you," Ed sighed and then turned his head so he was looking at Thomas. "I just don't know why you keep following me around like this."

"Because you're cool," Thomas simply said with a shrug. "I would like to be your friend, but you just won't let anybody other than Al in deep."

"It's too dangerous to get close to me," Ed muttered before turning his face back into his pillow.

"Oh, and I don't already have danger in my life," Thomas scoffed. "Believe me, Ed, you're not doing me a huge favor by trying to protect me like you try to protect everyone else in your life."

"But at least it won't be my fault if you die!" Ed snapped back suddenly. Thomas sighed and held a hand to his forehead.

"You just don't get it do you?" Thomas said softly. "Not everything is your fault, you know. Other people in this world do make their own decisions. But you know, if you want to just stay in your room and brood rather than come outside and actually have fun with other people, then go ahead. But just remember that while you're not responsible for _my_ safety, you are responsible for your own happiness."

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AdventureAddict: Hmm… I don't know what to wish for!

Kairi Angel: Hurry up. He turned Frodo into a Hot Pocket.

Frodo: I'm literally delicious!

Kairi Angel: I don't think he knows how disgusting those are.

Frodo: I'm not yummy?

Ed: MAKE ME TALLER YOU FATASS WHELP!

Genie: You didn't say it right.

Ed: _Please _make me taller.

Genie: Nope.

Ed: …PRETTY PLEASE make me taller.

Genie: You're not very good at this.


	17. The Plan

Kairi Angel: Poor Ed forgot to say "I wish."

Ed: -in a corner- I don't need your pity!

AdventureAddict: How about a hug:D

Ed: Hell no! Especially not from YOU!

Frodo: -hugs- Hugging!

Ed: Get off me!

Al: -hugs- Hugging!

AdventureAddict: Group hug! –hugs- Hugging!

Ed: Get! Off! Me!

Al: But-! -lower lip trembles- I'm your _brother_!

Ed: Shit. Al don't start cr-

Al: Haruhi! Ed made me cry!

Haruhi: Is that so? –whaps Ed with a paper fan- Stupid shortie! Who makes their only family cry?

**As you all know, AdventureAddict does not in any way own any part of Fullmetal Alchemist. **

On wit' da show!

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Chapter Seventeen – The Plan

"Well, look who finally decided to come down," Al said cheerfully as Ed walked into the room.

"Aw, stuff it, Al," Ed muttered while shoving his hands into his pockets. "Is everybody else still outside?"

"Yeah," Harley grinned at him. "You planning to go out there and help Kris kick everyone else's butts at tag?"

"Maybe," Ed sighed and leaned against the doorframe. The door was closed, so he couldn't see outside, but he could still hear the excited squeals of the children.

"Brother? Now that your arm is fixed, don't we have to get going soon? I thought Mustang gave you an assignment," Al said slowly. Ed closed his eyes and leaned his head backwards against the wood.

"Yeah," he sighed softly. "You don't think you could just go for me, do you?"

"Brother," Al sighed exasperatedly. "You need to learn to do your own work. What's so bad about going to a city and writing a report on it?" Ed turned his head and shot a glare at Al.

"Think about it, Al," Ed snapped angrily, now stepping away from the door. "I have to go to Impar. The City of the _Robins_. Robins love to flock in the streets. Now why might have a problem going there?"

"Oh," Al sighed and leaned backwards slightly. "I forgot about that."

"Well, lucky for you," Ed said sarcastically. "Meanwhile, I still have to manage to go there and find some sick murderer just because I'm a part of the damn state."

"You don't have to get so touchy about it!" Al snapped back quickly. "They're just _birds_, Brother! It's not like Robyn's ghost is wandering the street!"

"She might as well be," Ed snarled back angrily. "You know, even you have no idea of what I feel like. So stop trying to act like my pain is just so insignificant."

"I never said your pain was insignificant!" Al protested, now rising to his feet. Meanwhile, Harley still sat at the dining room table, looking between the two as if it was tennis match. "I just think it's about time you start moving on with your life, Brother!" Ed bared his teeth at Al in what look like an animal-like growl. "Have you ever thought that _maybe _Robyn isn't coming back?"

"She's in trouble, Al!" Ed replied angrily. "Don't you get it? I don't even know where she is, but I have to save her! And I can't be distracted by some stupid mission in some stupid city!"

"You really don't want to go to Impar, do you?" a voice asked coolly from the doorway. Ed spun around a full 180 degrees to see Thomas standing there, his face still red from the brisk fall air. "What would you be willing to give up as your Equivalent Exchange if you found a way not to go?"

"Why do you ask?" Ed asked, his eyes narrowing to suspicious slits.

'Well," Thomas said confidently, crossing his arms across his chest and walking over to Ed. "I have learned how to imitate voices pretty well. And we're about the same height. If I had the right incentive I could probably go to Impar dressed as you."

"What do you want?" Ed asked slowly.

"Money," Thomas answered simply. "The doctor in Central said he had a cure for Ben's disorder, but it costs 18,750,000 sens. I still need about 12,500,000 sens before I can buy it."

"I'll give you 12,625,000 if you can be convincing enough to actually make people think you're me," Ed said quickly. Thomas grinned and stuck out his hand.

"Done," he said, and then he and Ed shook on it. "But you need to figure out a way to make my eyes look golden. I think people will be suspicious if they see an Edward Elric with black and red eyes."

"That's not my job," Ed snapped back. "I said I would pay you _if_ you can be convincing enough to have others believe you're me. And you're the one who has to do the convincing, not me."

"What about colored eye contacts?" Al suggested, making Ed glare at him angrily. "You could use alchemy to make them, and then Thomas' eye would look golden."

"Fine," Ed sighed, giving in. "But that's all I'm doing for you, got it?"

"As long as you let me borrow some of your clothes," Thomas grinned. Ed scowled and crossed his arms.

"Thomas," Harley interrupted suddenly. Thomas stopped making faces at Ed and looked over at her. "He said that he has to find a murderer. It'll probably be dangerous." Thomas pursed his lips slightly but Harley continued, "Don't go. Think about all the people who care about you."

"I can take care of myself," Thomas said stubbornly. "I need to make sure Ben gets the medicine he needs."

"Ed's had more training than you," Harley persisted. "Just let him go. He's the one who's the State Alchemist anyway."

"Since when did you become my mother?" Thomas snapped back. "I can make my own decisions, and I'm going to go to Impar instead of Ed." Thomas looked over at Ed, grinned, and then suddenly said in a voice that sounded almost exactly like the blond alchemist's voice, "And nothing's going to stop me. Don't you know how stubborn I am?"

"Hey!" Ed protested. "My voice doesn't even sound like that!"

"Actually, Brother," Al tried desperately to stifle a laugh. "You _do_ kind of sound like that." Thomas smirked at Ed and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Oh, shut up," Ed snapped at Thomas.

"I didn't say anything," Thomas replied cheekily. Ed scowled and pulled off his red jacket. He then thrust it out to Thomas.

"I'll go get some spare clothes from my suitcase," he mumbled under his breath before turning and going back up the stairs to the room he was staying in.

"Thomas, please don't do this," Harley tried one last time. "Nobody in this house wants you to get hurt."

"I'm not going to get hurt," Thomas snapped back. "Besides, do you think I have a choice?"

"There's always a choice," Harley whispered softly. "You just have to open your eyes and look closer." Thomas stuck his tongue out at her and then pulled on Ed's coat. It was only slightly bigger on him in the shoulders than it was on Ed, but other than that it fit almost perfectly. Thomas then stuck his tongue out at Harley and hurried up the stairs after Ed.

"You have to stop him," Harley begged Al softly.

"Why?" Al asked obliviously, cockling his head to one side. Harley shook her head and leaned against the back of the chair she was sitting in.

"I'll have to get my automail reattached before I can go to Impar," Thomas said as he walked into Ed's room. Ed was bent over his suitcase, pulling out spare sets of the same black clothes he was wearing. He tossed a full outfit to the side and then pulled off his boots.

"See if we're the same size," Ed told Thomas as he tossed the boots over to the brown-haired boy. Thomas pulled off his own shoes and then tugged on Ed's thick black ones.

"They're a little big," he said as he wiggled his toes experimentally. "I guess I can put tissue paper in them or something." Ed nodded ad closed his suitcase again.

"So… hat's so bad about going to Impar anyway?" Thomas said slowly. Ed sighed and sat down on the bed.

"I don't know how the hell you knew Robyn Davenport," Ed said softly, "But I knew her too. And I… I loved her. So much."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Ed sighed and closed his eyes. "For the first few weeks it was so painful just to see a robin on the street. It doesn't hurt as much now as it once used to, but I don't think I could go into a city full of robins." Ed stopped suddenly and looked up at Thomas, who was leaning against the doorframe and smiling. "Er, I mean…"

"It's okay, I won't tell anyone," Thomas grinned. "Wouldn't want to ruin your tough alchemist image."

"Okay, that's enough. Get out," Ed sighed. He then bent down and grabbed the set of clothes off the floor and thrust them at Thomas. Thomas grinned innocently and walked out of the room. Ed then sighed and flopped back onto the bed.

T-H-I-S--I-S--A--D-I-V-I-D-I-N-G--L-I-N-E

"Okay, hold still," Kris said. Thomas sighed and rolled his eyes as she snapped off his temporary spring-powered automail.

"Where the hell do you think I'm going to run off to?" Thomas questioned. "I need this automail. Just hurry up and do it, okay?" Kris nodded and grabbed an automail leg off the floor.

"Okay, hold him," she told Harley. Harley nodded and grabbed Thomas' shoulders forcefully. Thomas shrugged a little at the sudden weight the girl was applying, but he was more focused on Kris and the automail that was inches away from being inserted into the small hole in his stump of a leg.

"1… 2… 3!" Kris said and then suddenly shoved the automail leg into the socket. Thomas' body jerked n pain and blood spilled from his bottom lip as he bit it in an attempt not to scream out.

"You can go ahead and scream, you idiot," Kris said softly. "No one will think less of you."

"Ed doesn't scream, neither will I," Thomas said determinedly. Kris and Harley both rolled their eyes and then carefully lifted him onto the bed off to the side in the workroom. Sweat poured down his face as Kris carefully arranged him so that he would be in the least amount of pan possible. Harley quietly left the room, leaving the two in peace.

"Silly," she muttered, ruffling his hair and then crouching down to so that she could press a wet washcloth against his forehead. "You don't have to act so tough just because Ed does. You need to stop comparing yourself with him."

"Kris…" Thomas whispered hoarsely.

"Shh," she said softly, dabbing gently at his sweaty forehead. "Just relax."

"What did you think… when I showed up on your doorstep with a leg missing?" Thomas continued, seemingly oblivious to her advice.

"I thought, 'Well, there's someone that looks like they could use my help,'" Kris whispered softly, making Thomas chuckle slightly. "I remember being surprised at the strength that kept pushing you forward, and being worried about whether or not you would survive." She stopped, and the two fell silent again.

"Have you told Ed and Al yet?" Kris asked softly. Thomas just barely shook his head. "You should," she added, making Thomas groan slightly.

"You and Harley both," he said softly. "Are you two teaming up against me?"

"No," Kris assured him softly. "But you should tell them before you go down to that city."

"Then they'll just stop me," Thomas protested. "Now can you just leave me here to die in my own pain?"

"No," kris said firmly. "Have I ever left you before?"

"Yes," Thomas said quickly. "Just not for very long if we were in the same house." Kris grinned and then the two were quiet again.

"Today Ed told me that he loved Robyn," Thomas finally whispered.

"Well, you always knew that, didn't you?" Kris said, brushing back his damp hair.

"Yeah, I just never heard him say if like that," Thomas whispered and then paused for a moment before continuing, "Maybe I should tell him. It's not nice to keep him in the dark like this." Kris kept silent, letting Thomas think over his own thoughts. "I just don't know how to tell him – or Al," Thomas whispered softly.

"Just tell him the truth," Kris said quietly.

"You know, I think I like you better when you're all wise rather than calling me asshole constantly," Thomas chuckled slightly.

"And if you wreck your automail like that again, you'll permanently have a shoe imbedded in your ass!" Kris said angrily, but this time Thomas could hear a slightly softer tone to her voice than she normally had. Kris then left the washcloth on his forehead and walked quietly out of the room to leave Thomas in peace.

When Thomas finally managed to open his eyes and look down at his leg, he caught a glimpse of a tattoo running up it. The words read, "Asshole! You better take care of this leg!" Thomas just sighed and fell back into a fitful sleep. Whether from the pain of automail or a secret weighing heavily on his mind, he couldn't tell.

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Ed: -tied to a chair- I hate you all.

AdventureAddict: What outfit can we put on him now? Haven't we done them all?

Frodo: -comes out of dressing room in a Glinda costume- I'm _really_ pretty!

Kairi Angel: Kyuu :3

Ed Oh shi- Not that look! No!

-Minutes passed for censorship of swears of fun and happiness-

Ed: -now unconscious and in the wicked witch costume with flying monkey accessory-

AdventureAddict: Oh, the irony. Should I go put on Dorothy's costume?

Kairi Angel: Nobody even knew your name was Dorothy else than readers from school.

AdventureAddict: Well, they do now. Besides, I want a cute little Toto trotting beside me.

Frodo: Me too!


	18. The Pieces of the Puzzle

Robyn: Sunshine! –glomp-

Ed: Wait, wha-?

Kairi Angel: You're welcome.

AdventureAddict: Kee! So cute!

Frodo: I want somebody to love!

AdventureAddict: -waves magic wand and Sam appears-

Frodo: Sam! –glomp-

Kairi Angel: Hey! I'm the witch!

Ed: Your name is just Sabrina! That doesn't make you a witch!

Kairi Angel: -flicks wrist-

Robyn: -disappears-

Ed: AH!

Sam: What in the name of good gardens is going on, Mr. Frodo?

**As you all know, AdventureAddict does not in any way own any part of Fullmetal Alchemist. **

On wit' da show!

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Chapter Eighteen – The Pieces of the Puzzle

Al knocked gently on the door to Thomas' room, his metal fist echoing slightly as it hit the wood. The door opened quickly, revealing a rather disheveled Ed. He was wearing his entire outfit, even the gloves, but his hair was rather messy, including the fact that his usual antenna wasn't sticking up.

"Brother?" Al said bewilderedly. "What are you doing in Thomas' room?" Ed blinked his eyes a few times as if he was still trying to wake up, and then suddenly grinned at Al.

"We confessed of our undying love for each other and then had hot sex all over the room," Ed told him with an impish smirk. Al would have fainted if he had a body that was actually physically capable of fainting.

"You… you… what?" Al said faintly.

"Don't believe him, Al," another voice suddenly said from behind. Al spun around quickly to see another Ed standing there with a cross look on his face. "Do you really think I would do _that_ with _Thomas_?" Al looked quickly between the two Eds and finally settled on the one smirking by the bedroom door.

"Thomas?" Al tried hesitantly.

"Nice job, Al," Thomas said, switching back to his normal voice. "Pretty cool, huh? These eye-contact-thingies you guys made really help."

"Wow," Al said softly as he looked Thomas over. "You really do look like Brother. You even sound like him. That's amazing. What did you do to your hair?"

"Alchemy," Thomas replied simply as he lightly brushed his bangs out of his face. "The chemicals of hair are pretty simple, after that it's just a matter of attaching the fake hair and making sure it's the right length. But the hair I made isn't actually living like my real hair, so I should probably detach it once I'm done."

"Oh, right," Al said, instantly understanding once Thomas said he had used alchemy. "And you dyed your real hair blond too, right?"

"Yep," Thomas nodded. "Instant makeover. I don't know why nobody's started an alchemic barbershop yet."

"Probably think it's taboo," Ed muttered softly, but still loud enough that they could hear him. "Most people would probably think that's human transmutation, even if it's not really."

"So when are you going to leave?" Al asked. "Er, not to sound mean or anything! It's not like I want you to leave _that_badly!"

"I know," Thomas grinned. "I figured I'd leave later this evening. I still want to pack up some stuff, and I want to have dinner before I ride a train for so long, so probably later in the night."

"What the hell do you actually have to pack?" Ed asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Just… stuff," Thomas answered vaguely. "It's personal, okay?"

"Whatever," Ed snorted. "Just don't make a fool of me while you're there, okay?" Thomas nodded slightly and paused before deciding to ask his question.

"Do you use alchemy or something to make that antenna stand on your head?" he asked, making Ed blush slightly. "I tried hair gel, but it didn't last very long. I was thinking that you probably use alchemy since I couldn't think of anything else, but I wanted to check with you."

"Yeah. Alchemy," Ed muttered softly. "I'm going to go eat lunch," he added quickly to Al before dashing down to the kitchen.

"Why's he so embarrassed about that?" Thomas said, looking curiously after Ed.

"I don't know," Al laughed slightly. "I think it's because it's a bit of an insult to his height, but he knew you weren't trying to be insulting so he couldn't get angry." Thomas smirked and then couldn't stop himself from laughing for a little bit.

"You know, I'm kind of hungry too," Thomas said after a moment. "I think I'll go have lunch."

"Okay," Al agreed easily, and the two turned to go down to the kitchen. They were suddenly interrupted by an earsplitting shriek.

"What was that?" Al asked quickly, turning to Thomas for reassurance.

"Claudia," Thomas sighed. Al had no clue what Thomas meant by that, so he quickly hurried down to the kitchen. A young girl that he had seen around the house was standing there screaming, her finger pointed accusingly at Ed.

"Yooooou steeeeeeped oooooooon aaaaaaaa craaaaaack!!!!!" she yelled, making Al wonder how such a young girl was able to hold so much air in her lungs. "We're alllllllll gonnaaa diiiiiiiiiiiee!!!!"

"I doubt that," Ed replied simply, his arms crossed across his chest. Harley looked over at Ed with wide eyes and made a quick slashing movement as if to say, 'No! Stop!'

"Yes, we aaaaaaare!" Claudia wailed. "You've doomed us aaaaaaaaalllll!!!"

"Calm down Claudia," Thomas said appearing suddenly in the kitchen. He then looked over at Ed and mouthed the words, 'Get off the crack, you idiot.' Ed glanced down at his feet and sheepishly realized he was still standing on the crack that had caused this whole mess. He quickly took a step to the side so that his feet no longer touched any of the offensive cracks.

Claudia calmed down in about five seconds once Ed wasn't standing on the crack, but her face was still flushed from screaming so much. Ed sighed and sat down at the table while Claudia watched him suspiciously out of the corner of her eye.

"What?" he said suddenly, snapping his head to look over at the girl. Claudia kept glaring at him, so Ed continued, "It's just a crack! None of us died! Get over it!" Claudia regarded him for a moment before snapping her head back and letting out another earsplitting shriek.

"Apologize!" Thomas yelled over the noise to Ed as they both clapped their hands to their ears.

"Why?" Ed snapped back. "I haven't done anything wrong!"

"You have to apologize or she'll just keep screaming!" Thomas shouted back. "Just do it!"

"She'll have to stop eventually!" Ed yelled back angrily. "She needs to breathe or she'll die!" As if seeing the sense in his words, Claudia paused for a moment and the room fell silent. "See?" Ed said triumphantly. Claudia then tilted her head back again and started screaming anew.

"Apologize!" Thomas shouted, clutching his hands tighter against his ears. "This isn't getting us anywhere!"

"I- Oh, fine!" Ed snapped and then turned back to Claudia. "I'm sorry!" he yelled, trying to make himself heard over her screeching. "I didn't mean to insult you, okay?"

Claudia suddenly stopped and looked at him with wide eyes. She took a few hiccupping breaths and rubbed at her eye, then suddenly turned to her tomato soup and started eating again.

"Jeez," Thomas sighed before going over to the stove and ladling some soup into a bowl for himself. "You could have ended that a lot sooner, Ed. And was apologizing really that hard?"

"Yes," Ed snapped back, pouting and then taking a sip of his soup. Thomas and Al both sighed simultaneously. Meanwhile, Harley was staring at Thomas.

"So you're really going to go through with this?" she asked, making it sound like she didn't want to hear the answer if it didn't involve the word 'no.'

"Yes," Thomas said simply. "Ben needs that cure, so I need that money."

"Then don't you have something to say to the Elrics?" Harley said firmly, nudging her head in the direction of Ed and Al, who were sitting side by side and watching Harley and Thomas argue as if it was a sport. Thomas looked over at them as if he was trying to make up his mind, opened his mouth once and then closing it again.

"You act as if this is easy," he snapped, turning back to Harley.

"Of course it's not easy," Harley sighed exasperatedly. "But it has to be done eventually. And you know, if you keep putting it off, I might just tell them for you."

"Fine!" Thomas snapped angrily. "But you know what? I bet you don't have the gut to tell them while I'm here."

"Of course not!" Harley retorted. "Because me telling them is a last resort. It would sound better coming from _you_!" Thomas made a face at her and then took another spoonful of soup.

"I'm leaving tonight, whether you like it or not," he said stubbornly. And whether I decide to tell them before I leave or not is _my_ business, not yours." Harley scowled at him and crossed her arms across her chest.

T-H-I-S--I-S--A--D-I-V-I-D-I-N-G--L-I-N-E

Thomas carefully walked down the stairs, holding his suitcase in one hand. Ed was sitting up on the sofa writing in a small book. Thomas set down his suitcase with a slight smile and walked over to sit on the sofa next to Ed.

"You going to leave soon?" Ed asked without even looking up from his book.

"I still got twenty minutes," Thomas answered absently. "You writing alchemy notes?" Ed suddenly snapped the book shut and looked up a Thomas with a look that would have matched the expression of a deer about to be run over by a car. "It's just – who decides to sit down at six o'clock at night and work on their travelogue?"

"Yeah," Ed sighed and flung the small book at the other side of the couch. "I'm just trying to figure out how to find Robyn and hopefully get her into this world without hurting her at all."

"So, you don't think she's in this world?" Thomas said slowly.

"No," Ed said certainly. "If she had managed to get into the world she would have found me. There's no way...That's just too big. She wouldn't be able to keep that to herself."

"Oh, I don't know," Thomas said, leaning back into the couch with a slight smile on his face. "Sometimes keeping a secret can be very satisfying. And fun," he added quickly.

"It can also be fun to actually get a secret off your chest," Ed tried slowly. "Are you going to tell me this secret you've been hiding from me?" Thomas grimaced slightly and then after a moment of consideration, shook his head. "Can you at least give me a hint?" Ed sighed exasperatedly.

"That I can do," Thomas grinned. Ed suddenly perked up in surprise. After so many times of being turned down, he hadn't expected for Thomas to give him an actual clue. "Actually, I've been dropping hints ever since you saw me in Resembool," Thomas said after a moment of consideration.

"Refresh my memory," Ed persisted. There were so many different clues to sort through; it would be nice to have Thomas tell him which ones were important.

"Okay," Thomas said slowly. "One - when you first saw me I was rather… spooked. Two - I know the homunculi, the homunculi know me. Three - right now the homunculi are after Robyn Davenport and trying to get whatever information we might know about her. Four - Robyn is also related to Roy Mustang, who saved my life and is my teacher. You got all the pieces of the puzzle, Ed, just put them all together."

Ed wrinkled his eyebrows in concentration, trying to think. After a few minutes of silence, Thomas sighed, stood up and grabbed his suitcase

"I'm going to go now!" Thomas called out, and suddenly everyone rushed into the room. "I'll be back as soon as I figure out the reason behind those murders," he assured them, mostly addressing Harley and Kris.

"Don't do it," Harley whispered as tears suddenly sprang to her eyes. "What if something happens to you?"

"I'll be fine," Thomas smiled cockily. Kris then suddenly ran forward and wrapped him in a tight hug. Thomas smiled more gently and tried to pat her on the back reassuringly. "I'll be back before you even have a chance to miss me," he promised.

"And then you'll just leave so you can break your automail again, you asshole," Kris said softly as she pulled away. "You be safe, okay?" Thomas nodded his agreement and was then suddenly enveloped in a hard hug with Harley.

"Harley… I can't breathe…" Thomas choked out.

"Tell them," Harley said sternly, pulling back and looking him in the eye.

"As soon as I get back, I'll tell them," Thomas said in a voice just as firm as hers.

"Immediately after you get back?" Harley questioned. "After you take one step inside this house you'll tell them?"

"Scout's honor," Thomas nodded, holding up three fingers. "And you hold me to that," he added as he looked over at Ed. Ed nodded in agreement. "Okay, group hug!" he said cheerily as he turned to the kids. All of them screamed happily and pounced, nearly knocking him to the floor. When they backed off, Thomas was holding Ben so they could look at each other eye to eye.

"You be good for Kris while I'm gone, okay?" he said, and Ben nodded solemnly. "Okay," Tomas smiled and then ruffled Ben's hair. "I'll se you when I get back." Ben nodded happily and Thomas set him down.

"Make sure Ed doesn't do anything stupid, okay Al?" Thomas added, looking up at the large suit of armor.

"Um... okay," Al said uncertainly. "Don't I do that all the time anyway?"

"Hey!" Ed protested, while Thomas laughed.

"Oh, stop looking so glum!" Thomas said as he looked over the group. "I'll be back in a few days. It's not like I'm going out to be shot!" he then turned and walked out the door with a smile and a wave. Harley suddenly stared shaking as quiet tears fell down her face.

"Al," Harley turned to him as she wiped some tears from her eyes and nearly fell onto her face as she lost her balance. Al quickly caught her in his sturdy arms and held her close in hopes of comforting her, even though he couldn't feel her at all.

"I don't see what all the fuss is about," Ed muttered before turning to go back up to his room to brood. "Thomas can take care of himself."

"I-I tri-ied to…"Harley hiccupped. "Please… You have to stop…"

"Stop who?" Al asked confoundedly. "Harley, what the heck are you talking about?" Harley stood up straighter, wiped the tears from her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself.

"I think I'd better tell you Thomas' secret," she said determinedly.

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**(Cliffie! Ha ha ha… I'm so evil…)**

Ed: -pouting in corner again- I miss Robyn.

Kairi Angel: Kyuu :3

Ed: I don't need that right now.

Kairi Angel: -flicks wrist again-

Robyn: You idiot! I was right here! She just made me invisible!

Ed: Then why didn't you say something?!

Sam: Mr. Frodo, I'm so confused…

Robyn: I thought you knew!

Frodo: Just sit and nod, Sam. Sit and nod!

Sam: Oh, Mr. Frodo. You're so cool!

AdventureAddict: -waves magic wand and starts flying- Hey, hey, Kairi! Guess who I am! –switches to fake British accent- Ron, I got the snitch! I CAUGHT THE SNITCH!


	19. Thomas' Adventure

Kairi Angel: Yo!

Ed: Meh.

Frodo: Hello!

AdventureAddict: Robyn's gone again. Poor Edo. –pat pat-

Ed: Shut up.

Kairi Angel: Kyuu. Ed's all bored and angsty… I have an idea!

Frodo: What is it, Kairi-lady?

Kairi Angel: We need excitement! We need to be pumped up so we can do anything!

Ed: I guess…

Kairi Angel: That is why…

-moments pass-

Ed: -now in a cheerleader outfit complete with pigtails and pompoms duct-taped on-

Kairi Angel: the fangirls are coming. Should we run, Miss Dori?

AdventureAddict: I suppose so, Miss Kairi.

Frodo: I want to be pretty too! –dashes off and puts on cheerleader outfit-

**As you all know, AdventureAddict does not in any way own any part of Fullmetal Alchemist. **

On wit' da show!

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Chapter Nineteen – Thomas' Adventure

Thomas walked slowly into Impar. It was just barely beginning to turn dark as the sun set regally in the distance. Ed's red cloak swished around his legs as he took slow, deliberate steps into the main street of the city. People were beginning to go inside as they lost the last of their light outside, but shops were still open, so Thomas walked into a small inn since he was a bit hungry.

"Can I help you?" a man asked as Thomas walked in. Thomas guessed that he probably looked a bit suspicious in the weird outfit Ed always chose to wear.

"I'd like a room for the night," Thomas said confidently, making sure to imitate Ed's voice.

"You got cash?" the man asked. Thomas squirmed a bit since he realized that he didn't actually have any money. Then, suddenly remembering something, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a gleaming silver watch. He knew Ed had been a bit uneasy in handing the watch over to Thomas, but had finally agreed to it in order to make Thomas seem like a more believable Edward Elric.

"Can you just put it on my credit? I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist," Thomas said, trying his best to act as arrogantly as Ed did when he told people he was a State Alchemist.

"Really?" The man said as he looked over the watch carefully. He then turned to look at the back of the shop and called out, "Hey Clause! It's your lucky night! That boy you're always talking about showed up!"

A young girl with long black hair and a slightly baggy dress suddenly came running up and looked at Thomas in surprise.

"Edward?" she said confusedly. "What are you doing here?"

"Eh, assignment from the military," Thomas shrugged and then suddenly blushed as Clause ran up and hugged him tightly. What was it with girls and hugging him recently?

"What about you?" Thomas asked when she pulled away from him. "What are you doing here?"

"My dad and I moved out here a couple of years ago," she said happily. "It's been really great. I've made some new friends and I'm doing well in school and- wait, did you say you were on a mission?"

"Um, yeah," Thomas answered, scratching the back of his head in true Edward fashion. "I have to find out why so many people have been murdered recently. You wouldn't happen to know anything, would you?"

"Not much," Clause said softly, the change in topic suddenly shifting her mood. She looked down at her feet and continued, "I just know what everybody else in town knows. The murders seem to be completely random. The only clue that seems to connect them is that the word "Rearth" drawn near the victim in their own blood." Thomas felt a slight shiver work his way down his spine. This murderer really was a sicko.

"So where's Al?" Clause asked after a moment of silence.

"Huh?" Thomas suddenly jerked out of his thoughts on possible motives of the killer and focused back on his conversation with Clause. "Al? He didn't come with me this time. Clause? Do have any idea of what Rearth might mean?"

"Well, it used to be the old main street," Clause said slowly, deterred by the sudden change in topic. Again. "But nobody really knows what it means other than that. Some kids have been daring each other to go down there, but none of them have found anything. Most people just think it's some kind of red herring the killer's using to try and throw us off."

"Huh. Well, I guess it's a good place to start. I'll check it out tomorrow," Thomas said simply, thought for a moment and then turned back to Clause. "Enough about this. Tell me about what's happened in your life since I last saw you." Clause smiled happily at him and the two talked late into the night before Thomas finally went to bed.

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Thomas woke up a little earlier than he would have liked the next morning, but he managed to get his hands on a map and find Rearth Street. He didn't want to get his hopes up that he would actually find something there since no one had managed to find anything so far, but a small part of him wished that he would prove to them all that he was smarter and better than them.

So after downing a cup of coffee and applying a little alchemy to his hair, Thomas found himself in the middle of Rearth Street. The sight of it reminded Thomas of a ghost town, even though a hustling city was only a few feet away from it. Thomas carefully made his way down the street, scaring flocks of robins as he did so.

The birds really did cluster in this city like pigeons did in others. Thomas could see why tourists loved the city. The robins were strangely different from the dirty pigeons he was used to in an almost soothing way. He could also understand why the very same sight would be the exact opposite of soothing to Ed.

"You actually came," a voice laughed and echoed down the empty street, making Thomas jerk in surprise. "I knew you could be a bit of an idiot, but I didn't think you'd actually come so quickly."

"Who are you?" Thomas questioned, spinning wildly around. He could see anybody anywhere at all, so he knew the man was hiding somewhere, he just couldn't tell where. The voice was echoing too much to pinpoint an exact location.

"You know me," the voice said simply. "I'm the one who gave you the potions that brought you to the other world you visited."

"Other world," Thomas muttered under his breath, then called out loudly, "And just how exactly did you do that?"

"Chemistry is powerful," the voice said mysteriously, making Thomas sigh. He wasn't getting anywhere with this man.

"Did you murder all those people?" Thomas asked.

"Yes," the voice said simply, and Thomas' jaw nearly dropped to the ground. Since when were mysteries ever that easy? "I did it to get you to come here. I knew the military would be interested and eventually send someone, but I never dreamed they would start by sending a little kid like you."

Thomas sighed at the mention of little and then carefully said, "Who are you calling an insect so small it doesn't even have a brain because nothing can possibly fit inside its microscopic skull?" He didn't feel like throwing the huge hissy fit Ed did every time someone called him short, so he decided to just say the rant. That was plenty.

"So what do you want with me?" Thomas questioned.

"Revenge," the voice growled. "You killed my Elisabeth and then tried to blame me for it. I don't believe you. And now you are going to die!" A man suddenly stepped out of one of the abandoned shops with a gun clutched tightly in one hand. Thomas' eyes widened in surprise and he was barely able to clap his hand together and slap them against the ground before the man started shooting.

"So you really can do alchemy without a transmutation circle," the man said bitterly after the bullet flew into a solid stone wall. Thomas grinned and poked his head around the corner.

The man with the gun looked like he was barely able to stand on his feet. Dark half circle were under his eyes, and his white suit looked like it had once been clean and neatly pressed, but now it just looked dingy and tattered. The man also looked like he could use a shave and a bath.

"I didn't murder anyone," Thomas said carefully.

"Liar!" the man shouted and quickly fired his gun again. Thomas just barely ducked back behind the wall in time to avoid the bullet. He took a deep breath and tried to think of a plan.

"Tell me where Elisabeth is!" the man shouted angrily. Thomas took the opportunity to suddenly jump out, clap his hands and slap them to the ground before the man could fire a shot. A large hand formed itself out of the ground and quickly grabbed the man, pinning his arms to his sides.

"I didn't kill this 'Elisabeth' of yours," Thomas said slowly as he walked up to the man. The man tried to struggle out of his bonds while he glared at Thomas. "So," Thomas said carefully and let the man continue to struggle. "Did you kill all those people just to get my attention?"

"Yes," the man growled angrily.

"Why?" Thomas said as he felt a swell of outrage bubble up inside him. "Don't you realize what those people were? They each had lives, a family who loved them!"

"The lives of pawns do not matter," the man spat back angrily. "Nothing will keep me and Elisabeth from being together, especially something as insignificant as pity." Thomas suddenly lost control of himself and punched the man in the face.

"Pity is one of the few things that separates the humans from the wolves," Thomas told him angrily. "If you choose to ignore it you are just another animal. No wonder you didn't get the girl you wanted."

"You know nothing!" the man replied venomously. "Elisabeth loved me! It was that Davenport that stole her from me! He warped her mind!" Thomas jerked slightly at the name and then grabbed the man's collar.

"_That _Elisabeth?" Thomas said angrily. "I'll have you know that she loved 'that Davenport' more than anything else! You're just a worthless nobody that doesn't even deserve to know someone like her!"

A sudden gunshot rang through the air and Thomas crumpled to the ground. Thomas realized that the man had actually managed to grab his gun and aim it well enough to shoot Thomas in the gut, even without the control of the rest of his arm.

The man laughed at his achievement as Thomas clutched at his stomach and his eyes closed.

"_Damn, getting shot hurts,"_ Thomas thought to himself, and then passed out.

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Thomas: -looks over at Ed- So you're gay… That explains a lot.

Kairi Angel: Oh, irony, you slay me.

Ed: I'M NOT GAY! –points to Frodo- HE IS!

AdventureAddict: -looks over at Frodo-

Frodo: Pretty, pretty, pretty. –swishes skirt back and forth-

Kairi Angel: I have something to tell Ed.

Ed: You love torturing me?

Kairi Angel: Yes, but no. Thomas is really-

AdventureAddict: A PINK BUNNY! SHUT UP KAIRI!

Thomas: Hey…

Kairi Angel: No.

AdventureAddict: Okay, fine, I give. Yes, Thomas is really Batman.

Ed: o.O

Frodo: Hee hee. Pink bunnies.

Kairi Angel: They don't exist.

Frodo: What?


	20. At Last

**(Okay, so every now and then while I was writing this chapter I would go to the kitchen for a glas of milk. I would then gulp down the milk in two seconds and **_**run**_** back to the computer. That's how excited I was about this. Sorry for the cliffie earlier. Enjoy!)**

AdventureAddict: Kairi has been waiting for this chapter for so long. This is gonna be fun.

Ed: -shakes head-

Kairi Angel: Ed doesn't know yet, does he?

Ed: Know what?

Kairi Angel: -whispers-

Ed: WHAT?!

AdventureAddict: Kairi! –sigh- We still have to get through this chapter!

Frodo: I want to know too!

AdventureAddict: Fine. –whispers-

Frodo: I do not understand.

Kairi Angel: Robyn times the square root of Thomas divided by Edward equals pi.

**As you all know, AdventureAddict does not in any way own any part of Fullmetal Alchemist. **

On wit' da show!

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Chapter Twenty – At Last

"Brother!" Al ran up to Ed's room and started pounding on the door. He could hear Claudia wailing about cracks in the distance, but this time he didn't care. "BrotherBrotherBrotherBrotherBrother!! Open the door! Brother!"

"What the hell is wrong with you Al?" Ed demanded as he opened the door. "Did part of the house catch on fire or something?" Al quickly shook his head. 

"You remember how you decoded Marcoh's alchemy notes?" Al asked quickly. Ed nodded slowly, still watching Al curiously. "Do you think you could do it again?"

"It would depend on how well it was coded," Ed shrugged. "And whether you were helping me or not. Why?"

"You need to read this note, but it's all in code," Al said quickly, thrusting a piece of paper towards Ed. "And I can't help you or you won't believe it. And you should probably finish it quickly." Ed opened his mouth to say something, but Al quickly interrupted, "You'll understand once you've figured this code out. Just do it!"

"Okay," Ed said hesitantly and took the paper from Al's hand. Al nodded gratefully and started pacing outside Ed's door.

_Four hours later…_

"Holy shit!" Ed cried from behind his door. Al looked up hopefully just as Ed threw open the door.

"Whole-lee _shit_," Ed repeated, his eyes wide as he looked at Al. "We have to get to Impar _now_."

"You want to pack any clothes?" Al asked quickly.

"You think I give a damn if I sleep in the same clothes?" Ed snapped back. "Let's _go_. If we hurry we might actually make the last train." Al nodded and the two raced out the door.

They got to the train station just as the eleven-fifteen was pulling out.

"Come on!" Ed shouted at Al as he motioned with his arm for Al to catch up and went into an all-out sprint. The two of them were just barely able to grab a hold on the handles by the doors of the train before it sped up.

"Now," Ed panted as they walked into the car and sat down in seats across from each other. "Tell me all the details. How did you know about that note?"

"Harley told me," Al told Ed simply. Ed looked at him expectantly, so he was quiet for a minute to get his thoughts in order before he went on with the rest of the story.

T-H-I-S--I-S--A--D-I-V-I-D-I-N-G--L-I-N-E

Ed and Al didn't get to Impar until seven in the morning. Ed quickly started running down the street, ignoring the robins clustering in his path that hoping for a tidbit of food.

"Dammit, of all the times to have 'technical difficulties' with the tracks," Ed muttered as he walked briskly down the street. He then turned to Al, trying to think of where to go. "Where?" he asked quickly.

"An inn?" Al suggested with a shrug. Ed nodded and quickly tapped a young girl on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, miss?" he said quickly. "Could you tell me where-" he stopped suddenly as the girl turned around, revealing that she was really Clause.

"Ed?" she said in surprise as she looked the two brothers over. "What's going on? I thought you said Al didn't come with you."

"You've seen me before?" Ed guessed quickly, and Clause nodded. "Did we talk together?" Ed demanded. Another nod. "Did I mention where I was going to go today?"

"You- You said you were going to try Rearth Street, remember?" Clause said quickly. "What's going on?"

"Show me," Ed demanded, and nearly wanted to slap Clause when she looked at him with bewildered eyes. "Show me Rearth Street!" he clarified quickly. "Run!" Clause nodded and set down the street at a sprint, checking over her shoulder every now and then to make sure the brothers were still following her.

They finally reached Rearth street, a large street that had probably once been the main street of Impar, but was now in the deserted section of town. Ed turned in a complete circle and then noticed the small red heap among rocky lumps at the end of the street.

"That way!" he said quickly to Al as he pointed towards the red lump. Al nodded and the two brothers sprinted in the direction of it. "Clause! Call an ambulance!" Ed shouted over his shoulder. Clause nodded and ran off.

Thomas laid in the middle of the street, his hair still long and golden, except now he was surrounded by a pool of red blood pouring out from his stomach. Ed pulled off his own coat as he ran to Thomas, slid to a stop by the small body, and pressed the coat to Thomas' stomach while he felt Thomas' forehead with his left hand.

"Still warm," Ed panted as Al ran towards him and started applying pressure to the red coat against Thomas' stomach. Ed leaned in to try and get a sign that Thomas was still alive.

"Not breathing," Ed muttered worriedly before tilting Thomas' head back. He then leaned in without a moment of hesitation and pressed his mouth against Thomas' lips. After Ed had given him two breaths and pulled away for a brief second, Thomas blinked and looked at the scene around him in confusion.

"Edward?" he said, considering the golden eyes above him for a second, "What are you doing he-?" he started right before he hissed and bit his lip as a sudden wave of pain washed over him. "Never mind," he grunted after a minute.

"Look, there's something I need to tell you," Thomas started hesitantly after a second. "I really should have told you sooner, but-"

"It's okay," Ed interrupted suddenly, "Harley told Al about you, and the note that you wrote, and then Al gave me the note."

"You read...my note?"

"You were just trying to get your thoughts in order, weren't you?" Ed grinned slightly. "There were a lot of spelling mistakes in there." He then stopped suddenly, and found for the first time in years he was having a difficult time holding back his tears as he looked down into Thomas' golden eyes.

"You're such an idiot, Robyn," he said with a slightly bitter tinge to his voice as he addressed Thomas. "You could have told me. I wouldn't have been mad at you. You were just trying to disguise yourself so the homunculi wouldn't find you, and now-" he stopped and two tears slipped down his cheek and landed on Robyn's forehead.

"I can't lose you again," Ed choked out. "You can't go dying on me now, not after I just got you back. I can't lose you. I just can't." He paused and brushed her golden bangs out of her face as she tried to smile at him but only ended up grimacing in pain. Ed and Al both jerked as they heard the sound of an ambulance in the distance.

"It's okay, Robyn," Ed whispered as he lifted her slightly into a sitting position. "Soon you'll be in the hospital, and then you can get some real treatment, and everything will be fine."

"No hospitals," Robyn whispered softly, switching back to her real voice instead of Thomas' fake one. Ed and Al looked at her in surprise. "The homunculi are looking for me. They have spies at hospitals. If I go to a hospital, then they'll find me. They'll catch me."

"What do you want me to do, Robyn?" Ed hissed back. "I can't just let you bleed to death in the middle of the street!"

"Take me back to Kris," Robyn murmured softly. "She'll know what to do."

"The train ride's an hour and a half long!" Ed protested. "And that's if they're _not_ having trouble with the tracks!"

"I can make it," Robyn said determinedly, and then noticing Ed's worried stare, she added, "I promise Ed, I won't die on you. I can make it." Ed stared at her for a minute, but then finally sighed and looked over at Al.

"Stop wasting time and get her to the train station," he said firmly to Al. "If you don't go fast enough, you might just barely miss a train."

"What about you?" Al asked worriedly as Ed helped him carefully pick Robyn up.

"That ambulance will be here any second," Ed said quickly. "Someone needs to be here with some sort of explanation. Now hurry, and be careful," he told Al as he carefully pressed his red jacket against Robyn's stomach. He then leaned in and pressed his lips briefly against Robyn's forehead.

"You better keep that promise you just made, or there will be hell to pay," he murmured softly. Robyn smiled for a second, but then Al raced off in the direction of the train station and she was gone.

The ambulance sped into the street just moments after Robyn and Al left. Ed quickly lifted his arms in the air and waved them in the air. The ambulance quickly sped over and stopped just a few feet away from Ed.

"We received a call that someone in this vicinity was wounded," a woman said as she quickly hopped out of the car. "Where are they?"

"I'm afraid it was a false alarm," Ed said smoothly. "We saw blood and overreacted. Apparently some school kids came here to practice for a play. They wanted it to look as realistic as possible, so they spread fake blood everywhere, see?" Ed said, motioning to the puddle of blood where Robyn had previously been lying.

"Don't do that," the lady said sternly. "Playing games with the hospital is not a wise move. Next time you could get in serious trouble."

"I understand," Ed said somberly. "It won't happen again." The woman nodded, climbed back in the car with her assistant and sped off. Ed breathed a sigh of relief, glad that he had actually been able to pull off the puppy-with-their-tail-between-their-legs act.

"Okay, " Ed looked at the rubble around him. It seemed like Robyn had used alchemy to defend herself. "You can't get a gunshot wound without a gun," Ed muttered under his breath. "And someone to pull the trigger. Come out, come out, wherever you are…"

"Hey, why don't you come out and fight me, you coward?!" Ed called out, suddenly raising his voice enough so that it echoed dully down the street.

"How the hell did you survive?" another voice answered, and then the man in the white suit suddenly stepped out of an abandoned shop. Ed realized that the little amount of time since they had last seen each other had not been good for the man. "I shot you in the gut," the man growled at Ed through clenched teeth.

"I survived," Ed growled back as they started to circle.

"Well, then I'll make sure to do a better job this time," the man retorted.

"You're such an idiot," Ed sighed loudly. "First you send me to go fetch some girl, but then you send me to a time where she's already dead, then you go and shoot her daughter."

"You're lying!" the man accused. "_You_ killed Elisabeth and you just want to put the blame on me!" Ed snorted at the accusation.

"You know how you just shot me?" he asked. "That was your 'beloved's' daughter. How can you say you love her and then put her child in danger?" Ed made sure not to say dead for his personal sake. Robyn wasn't dead yet, she still had a chance. She just had to hold on a little bit longer.

"I don't believe you!" the man cried, held the gun up swiftly and pulled the trigger before Ed had a chance to react. Luckily for Ed, he was out of bullets. The man tried shooting a few more times before he realized it wasn't going to work, and then he threw the gun at Ed.

Ed easily caught the gun in his right hand and tossed it to the side. The man then suddenly collapsed to his knees and started shaking with sobs. Ed sighed, clapped his hands together and formed a stone pillar that completely trapped the man except for his head. Off to the side a small sign sprang up declaring, "Serial Killer" and an arrow pointing to the man. Ed had better thing to do with his time, with Robyn at the top of the list.

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AdventureAddict: Okay, now they know. You can finally let it out.

Kairi Angel: **THOMAS IS ROBYN. DIPSHITS DIDN'T SEE **_**THAT, DID YA**_

Ed: …Shut up!

Kairi Angel: Never. You're supposed to be a prodigy, aren't you?

Ed: I'll freaking kill you!

Kairi Angel: -poofs off to a high up shelf and watches Ed try and climb it like the dog that he is-

AdventureAddict: Um…Ed… -he looks over and AdventureAddict makes clapping motion-

Ed: Oh. Riiight… -claps hands and Kairi Angel's shelf is absorbed into the wall-

Kairi Angel: -flicks wrist and Robyn is summoned-

Ed: -freezes on spot-

AdventureAddict: Awww!

Ed and Robyn: Shut up!


	21. Robyn's Story, Part One

I ran out of Author's Notes again. –sigh- But on the positive side, we just had my family birthday party and my aunt gave a cell phone!! WHOO HOO!!! I'm am now back in the twenty-first century with all my friends!! And speaking of 21, here is the twenty-first chapter for all of you peoples. Yay!

**As you all know, AdventureAddict does not in any way own any part of Fullmetal Alchemist. **

On wit' da show!

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Chapter Twenty-One – Robyn's Story (Part One)

Ed slowly trudged up to the house. Part of him wanted to run up to the house to make sure Robyn was fine, while the other part of him wanted to walk even slower in case bad news was waiting there for him. And he was still a little sore after the long day on top of everything else.

"Brother!" Ed jerked his head up at the sound of the familiar voice. He smiled slightly at the large suit of armor and waved casually.

"Is she okay?" Ed asked softly as he rubbed at the back of his neck. Some part of him knew that his neck hurt, and yet he couldn't feel it like he was usually able to after being hurt.

"She'll survive," Al said a little nervously.

"What do you mean 'she'll survive'?" Ed snapped suddenly snapped with a worried edge to his voice, all earlier calmness having disappeared in half a second.

"Well, she was worried about how much she was bleeding on the train ride here," Al started hesitantly. "So… she, um… used a little of her fire alchemy to seal the wound. But," he added quickly a she saw Ed's expression darken, "She'll be fine, and it's only a _little_ scar, and she's even okay enough to walk around!"

"I guess I shouldn't be mad," Ed said softly, letting himself calm down again. "She did what she needed to survive. Could I-" he paused and caught his breath. "Could I see her?"

"Are you kidding?" Al laughed. "She's been pacing in there as she's waited for you!" Ed smiled slightly and rolled his eyes.

"Well, I guess I'd better hurry up then," he said with a slightly amused tone to his voice. Al nodded quickly, and Ed walked around him and into the house. He almost immediately felt a pair of warm arms wrap tightly around his neck.

"Why'd you take so long? I was worried about you!" Robyn scolded as she held him tightly.

"_You_ were worried about _me_?" Ed snapped back. "I nearly tore myself in two on the train ride back here! And before that I had to wait for the damn train because they don't run that late at night! And then you say that _you _were worried about _me_?"

"I'm sorry, Ed," Robyn apologized quickly and pulled away from him slightly. Ed barely had a chance to react before she leaned in and softly kissed him.

This kiss was nothing like the one they had once accidentally shared in the hallway. Robyn's silky lips pressed against his in a much more purposeful manner than they had before, and he could taste a slight hint of cinnamon lingering on her. He guessed that she had baked her cinnamon chip cookies to pass the time while she had worriedly been waiting for him. Either that or she just naturally tasted slightly like cinnamon.

Ed felt his left hand settle naturally on her waist, as if it had been meant to go right there. As if they were two puzzle pieces that had always been destined to fit together. Robyn gently worked open his mouth and Ed gave in easily. He had never thought that something so completely illogical as kissing could feel so nice. After all, what was the point to mashing your mouth against someone's face?

Ed thought that he finally understood why people made such a big deal out of kissing. He wished he could feel this good for the rest of his life. The kiss was just so soft and irresistibly sweet.

"Wait," Ed hated to pull away from her, but somehow he managed to get far enough away to whisper the one word softly. He then noticed for the first time that Robyn still hadn't changed out of her clothes. If anyone had walked in, it would have looked like he was kissing himself. "I want to know what happened to you first," he added quietly.

"Huh?" Robyn cocked her head to one side and looked at him confusedly. Ed nearly screamed when she pulled away from him even further, but he knew he had to find out her story. Afterwards they would be able to kiss all they wanted, he reminded himself.

"It's been a whole year since I last saw you in America," Ed said gently. "I'm pretty sure a lot has happened since then, especially since you have one leg less than when I last saw you. I want to know what happened."

"It's a long story," Robyn sighed, but when Ed continued to look at her with determined golden eyes, she motioned to the couch. "This is going to take a while."

"Then make yourself comfortable," Ed said stubbornly as he sat down. "I'm not going anywhere until I know the whole story." Robyn considered him for a moment before smirking mischievously. She then sat down next to him, wrapped her arms around his waist and settled her head against his chest. Ed seemed surprised for a spilt second before he relaxed against her and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Let's see," Robyn said thoughtfully. After a moment of consideration, she began her story, "After I 'died' I found myself in a large white place. It was the strangest thing, because there was absolutely no sound or even feeling. Nothing. After a moment I realized where I was and turned around. There was The Gate looming right over me. I never thought I would live to see it. And when I turned around a second time, the Truth stood there…"

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Robyn walked slowly through Nothing, then suddenly spun around and glared at the huge gate looming behind her. No matter how far she kept managing to walk, it was always right there behind her.

"Let me out of here, Truth!" she cried out angrily as she tightly balled her hands into fists.

"There is only one way out."

Robyn froze. She understood what the Truth was telling her, but she hadn't even considered that until now. If she did go through the gate, she would probably end up in Ed's world instead of her own, and she would probably also have to pay something for her knowledge. But wouldn't even that be better than the hell she was living in Nothing? The Gate cracked open suddenly and she saw a small black hand trying to get out.

"I do want to see Ed and Al again," Robyn said softly. The Gate cracked open a little more and three more black hands stretched out. Robyn flinched slightly, but then suddenly made up her mind.

The Gate opened completely and a hundred small black hands flew out and grabbed her. Robyn didn't struggle and just let them pull her into the gate, knowing that once she was out again, she might be able to see Ed.

A steam of images flew through her mind at the speed of light. Robyn felt like she wasn't able to process any of them, but at the same time felt like an entire library's worth of knowledge was being shoved into her brain. Suddenly the image of a girl with blue and purple hair popped into her head.

"I'll help you," the girl said softly with a sad smile. Then another chain of images started, and Robyn subconsciously closed her eyes in an attempt to make it stop.

When she opened her eyes again, she was suddenly aware of an intense pain in her leg. She screamed out before she could stop herself, the sound echoing through the empty trees.

"Help…" another voice said weakly. Robyn bit her lip painfully and looked over to the side. A brown haired boy laid a little bit away from her, covered head to toe in blood. Robyn cautiously sat up, ripped off a scrap of her already bloody shirt and wrapped t around her stump of a leg. She winced as she felt her leg slide on the puddle of blood beneath her, but then she somehow managed to drag herself over to the boy. She then suddenly realized in surprise that his intestines were sticking slightly out of his stomach.

"What happened?" she asked weakly as she grabbed the boy's backpack and pressed it firmly against the wound in an attempt to make it stop. Her leg hurt like hell, but she didn't even want to think about what the boy was going through at that moment.

"Wolves," the boy muttered softly as a droplet of sweat slipped down his forehead. "They attacked me." Robyn winced but continued to hold the backpack against his wound.

"What's your name?" she asked, mostly in an attempt to distract both herself and the boy from the pain they were each in.

"Thomas," the boy grunted painfully. "Thomas Korbin."

"I'm going to help you, Thomas, okay?" Robyn said reassuringly, trying to remember the first aid class she had taken years ago. Thomas just shook his head with a pained look on his face.

"You... you can't help me," he grunted. "Just... do me… a favor. Find Kristine Haines and… tell her… tell her I love her… okay?" he then reached down and pulled a small golden ring off his left hand and handed it to Robyn. Robyn nodded solemnly and carefully took the ring from his hands. Thomas then suddenly fell limp, and Robyn knew that he had died.

And while it seemed like a cruel thing to do, she knew she had to stop worrying about Thomas and move on to her own safety. She carefully turned, and with the ring still clutched in her hand, began to drag herself out of the clearing. Towards – she hoped – civilization and help.

"Where did all this blood come from?" a deep voice said from the direction Robyn was crawling towards. She nearly fainted in relief at the thought that someone was actually nearby. Perhaps she wouldn't die alone in this forest.

"Riza, do you have your gun?" the deep voice continued.

"Yes sir," a female voice replied promptly. Robyn suddenly realized that the owner of the voice was actually Roy Mustang. She was quickly filled with relief. Of course _Mustang_ wouldn't leave someone to die in the forest. He had too good of a conscience to do that.

"What the-?" Roy said in his deep voice. Robyn looked up only to find that he was above her. In that moment, it seemed impossible that they could be related.

Then she passed out.

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"So tell me," Roy said as he settled himself into a chair, "Who are you?" Robyn had managed to wake up again after her leg was properly bandaged, and Roy had kept silent until she was well enough to answer questions without passing out, but now he wanted answers.

"Me?" Robyn gulped nervously, unsure of how to answer. After a moment of consideration, she said carefully, "My full name is Roberta Chelsea Davenport."

"Roberta?" Roy repeated, smiling slightly and cocking one eyebrow.

"Well, most people call me Robyn," she amended quietly.

"Like the bird?" Roy's smirk widened, and Robyn blushed a little and sank deeper under her sheets.

"Like the bird," she muttered, her voice muffled by the thick blankets. "But with a Y."

"But that still doesn't tell me who you really are or what you were doing in that forest," Roy said as he continued to look at Robyn curiously. Robyn grinned slightly as she thought over her answer. She had seen the same sort of look cross Luke's face too many times to count.

"I'm actually related to the Mustang family," Robyn said carefully. Roy perked up slightly at this.

"Really?" he said interestedly, leaning forward slightly. "I've never seen you at any of the family reunions."

"Well, no," Robyn blushed slightly. "I just found out I was a Mustang recently. I don't even really know who I'm related to," she lied, feeling a bit guilty for not telling Roy the complete truth.

"You'll be able to find out eventually," Roy reassured her. "You're still young, there's plenty of time for you to figure it out. You know, I haven't seen purple eyes like that since before my mother died." Robyn smiled slightly as she realized that he was actually referring to her great-grandmother. That must have been how her mother had gotten purple eyes.

"Would you please let me be your apprentice?" Robyn suddenly blurted out, surprising even herself. Roy looked at her in disbelief, seemingly taken aback by the question.

"I don't need an apprentice," Roy said with an icy tone to his voice almost immediately after Robyn had asked the question. "I don't _want_ an apprentice."

"I need to know how things work," Robyn said softly. "I need someone to show me what makes this world tick. I need knowledge that books just can't provide."

"Then find someone else to teach you," Roy said stubbornly before standing up and walking out of the room. Robyn paused for a few minutes before deciding to do her experiment. She slowly held up her hands with palms facing each other, then hesitantly clapped them together. She shoved them against the blankets on her bed, and a smirking Ed plushie formed itself out of the top layer.

Robyn frowned at the toy before picking it up and brushing its hair out of the way so she could see the golden eyes beneath. She had seen the toy before in her world, but she hadn't meant to make it when she used her alchemy. She was obviously thinking about Ed. She wondered what he'd think about her trying to become Roy's apprentice.

She winced as another wave of pain washed over her stump that was once a leg. She hugged the small Ed plushie and snuggled deeper under the covers. She knew that as soon as she was able to she would have to find the Elrics and tell them what had happened, somehow. After all she couldn't just walk up and say, "Surprise! I'm not really dead like you thought I was!"

Robyn sighed to herself and fell asleep trying to figure out her next move.

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Still more to go on Robyn's Story. That's why I made this Part One. But do you all get it? The parts of Robyn with the Gate were really flashbacks. I started figuring that if I also had to put those scenes in here it would get reeeeeeally long. Guess I was partly right. It's still gonna be kinda long. And my nose is runny. Ick. I might be coming down with something. But I still got a cell phone!!! XD


	22. Robyn's Story, Part Two

Hee. I just got off the phone with Sister. Okay, so she's not really my sister, but I like to call her that since she feels like she's my big sis. Anyway, I'm in a good mood now. So onto some New Arrival fun! And yes, I've adopted Kairi's custom of combining the two names together…

**As you all know, AdventureAddict does not in any way own any part of Fullmetal Alchemist. **

On wit' da show!

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Chapter Twenty-Two – Robyn's Story (Part Two)

Robyn slowly went outside, a nurse from the hospital carefully pushing her in a wheelchair. She had recently been trying to make the decision on whether or not to get automail. Logically, it made more sense, but she ended up getting nervous whenever she thought of the pain that would go hand-in-hand with the process.

"Let's go that way," Robyn told the nurse, pointing towards a small patch near the edge of the fence that was deserted. The nurse nodded briskly and pushed Robyn in the direction she was pointing.

Robyn sighed and went back to think of ways to first find the Elric brothers and then how she could manage to tell them the truth. She sighed and closed her eyes as she thought of those last few days with Ed.

"_Ed?" Robyn said softly, after a moment's pause._

"_Mmm-hmm?"_

"_I love you."_

_She felt Ed jerk at these words, and even though she wasn't looking at him, she could still feel him turn to look at her._

"_What?" he asked, with a slightly surprised tone to his voice. Not angry, she noted, just surprised._

"_I love you," she repeated softly, still feeling his eyes staring at the top of her head._

_A moment of silence passed between them before Robyn finally felt Ed's chest heave with the words, "I love you too."_

"_You're not saying that just because I said it, are you?" Robyn asked uncertainly, and Ed let out a huge sigh._

"_Do you really think I would say that if I didn't mean that?" he asked, his automail now rubbing her shoulder gently. "Really, is that the sort of thing I do?" he asked, and was rewarded with a laugh from Robyn. "I've been thinking it for a while. I just haven't had the guts to say it, okay?" he added seriously, and Robyn sighed._

"_Okay," she said slowly._

Robyn sighed and rested her palm in her hand. Would it even be possible for them to go back to that now? She knew she still loved him, but that didn't mean they could just go back to the way things were as if nothing had happened, could it?

But, oh, how she wished it could. She wanted Ed to just hold her like that again more than anything in the world. She just wanted him to be there with him, dammit!

"Finally I've got you alone," the nurse suddenly said. Robyn twisted in the wheelchair to look up at the nurse with a confused expression. "Now… You've seen The Gate, haven't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Robyn said slowly, hoping her lie would trick the strange nurse. She didn't know how the nurse knew about The Gate, and especially that Robyn had been there.

"I think you know exactly what I'm talking about," the nurse said, leaning in and smiling evilly at Robyn. "A few weeks ago there was a strange flux of energy in the woods nearby. The kind of flux that only happens when someone opens The Gate. And then all of a sudden you show up."

"I- I-" Robyn stuttered. How did this nurse know so much?

"Now, Mustang is a little concerned over the fact that he found you with a dead boy by the name of Thomas Korbin. He hasn't voiced his suspicions yet, but he thinks there's the possibility that you're a murderer," the nurse told Robyn.

"He thinks I killed him?" Robyn said softly. "But- But- I didn't! Really!"

"Oh, I don't believe that you tried to kill Thomas," the nurse smirked.

"You- You don't?"

"No. I believe that he was already dead and you tried to bring him back," the nurse said simply. "Leading to you seeing The Gate. But I don't think you realized when you left that clearing that Thomas wasn't really as dead as you thought. In fact, once we find him, he'll become a full-fledged homunculus."

Robyn considered the nurse carefully for a minute, and then suddenly gasped in recognition, "Envy!"

"Oh, so you know me already?" the nurse smirked, her form rippling until she was the familiar homunculus."Now I wonder how that is, considering that none of us _ever_ met you before. Someone told you, perhaps? Not that many people know who we truly are, and Marcoh is too worried we'll hurt his little village to tell anyone, so that leaves…" Envy thoughtfully put a finger to his chin before rippling into the familiar form of Ed. 'Ed' leaned in closer to Robyn until she could feel his breath on her nose.

"Now why would I tell you that?" 'Ed' wondered aloud. "I don't think I would reveal information like that to someone unless they were pretty close to me."

"Ed didn't tell me," Robyn said quickly, pulling her head as far away from the homunculus as she could. She was terrified at the thought that Envy had her trapped in a wheelchair. She suddenly knew that she _had _to get automail, whether it was painful or not. She hated feeling helpless like this. "I knew about you long before I met him."

"Ah, so you do know the Fullmetal pipsqueak. It really is a small world," Envy smirked, going back to his normal form. Robyn nearly smacked herself on the head for her stupidity.

"Hey, you!" a sudden, sharp voice jerked both Envy and Robyn out of their conversation. Robyn nearly cried in relief when she saw Hawkeye standing off to the distance with her gun pointed at Envy. "Get away from the girl!" Envy looked first at Hawkeye, then back at Robyn. Hawkeye tightened her grip on the gun.

"You wouldn't want someone else to find out about homunculi, do you?" Robyn whispered to him triumphantly. "And you can be sure she'd tell Mustang too. Now would that really make…" Robyn paused, unsure whether Dante or 'Father' was leading the homunculi, "Would that make your…boss…too happy?"

"I'd kill her before she could tell anyone," Envy hissed in reply, but Robyn noticed that he had taken a few steps away from her.

"This is a hospital. Someone is bound to see you," Robyn told him.

"Then they'd see her pointing the gun at me right now," Envy retorted.

"That's Riza Hawkeye. She'll point a gun at anything if you give her a reason," Robyn said, barely managing to stifle a laugh. "And I'm pretty sure that plenty of people know that." Envy turned and glared at Robyn.

"This isn't over," he growled at her. "And I'm going to make your little Thomas friend one of us too. And when I do, I'll make sure to have him kill _you_." With that, he stepped completely away from Robyn, looked warily at Hawkeye, and then swiftly bounded over the fence.

"Are you alright, Miss?" Riza asked as she hurried up to Robyn. Robyn nodded quickly and let Hawkeye wheel her back into the hospital briskly. "The Colonel said he wanted to talk to you," Riza told her as she walked. "You wouldn't mind if I brought you straight to him, would you, Miss?"

"Uh, no," Robyn said slowly, and then twisted in her wheelchair to look up at Hawkeye. "He- He doesn't really think I murdered that boy, does he?" Hawkeye pursed her lips and looked straight ahead.

"He was a bit suspicious of you at first," she said slowly. "But today we got back information that said the boy had teeth marks around his wounds. It seems he was killed by wild wolves." She stopped suddenly and pushed Robyn into what appeared to be a large conference room. Robyn found herself wondering why they needed a room like that in a hospital.

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"For the staff," Ed interrupted suddenly.

"What?" Robyn suddenly stopped in the middle of her story and looked up at him, cocking her head to one side.

"They would have a conference room for the staff," Ed told her, suddenly regretting his choice to interrupt the story. His chest seemed to be extremely cold where Robyn's head had once been. "You know, for meetings and stuff. Even doctors have to have meetings, you know. In fact, they-" He stopped, realizing that Robyn was looking at him strangely. "What?"

"Nerd," Robyn said playfully.

"Hey, it's not nerdiness, it's just common sense!" Ed retorted. "I mean, what else would they have a conference room for?"

"Can I finish my story?" Robyn asked impatiently, though a grin was playing across her lips. "You were the one who wanted to hear it anyway." Ed sighed and settled back into the chair.

"Continue."

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"Hello, Roberta," Roy said formally as Hawkeye wheeled her in.

"Hi," Robyn muttered, looking down at her lap.

"I have given it much consideration, and" Roy paused and looked at her meaningfully, "and I have decided to let you be my apprentice." Robyn suddenly snapped her head up to look at him in surprise. She opened her mouth to say something, but Roy quickly cut her off. "**BUT** on two conditions." Robyn didn't object to this, so he continued, "First, you have to follow every order I give you, no questions asked."

Robyn nodded quickly, even though it reminded her strangely of Karate Kid. She wondered if she would spend the first few months of her time with Roy learning exercises similar to the famous 'wax on, wax off.'

"Second, you have to get automail," Roy continued. "I will not have some crippled little girl for my apprentice. Understood?" Robyn looked down briefly at her stump of a leg, but then looked back up at Roy determinedly. She would not be helpless again.

"Yes, sir. I promise, sir," she said quickly. She then suddenly paused and looked back down at her leg. "Wait… I don't have the money to get automail," she said slowly, her face crumpling in disappointment. She looked back up at Roy, who smiled at her in a way she wasn't used to seeing on the anime.

"Well, I suppose that teachers can do favors for their apprentices every now and then," he told her. Robyn nearly wanted to hug him in relief. "I guess I'll go find out who's a good mechanic in this area. In the meantime, I want you to do seventy-five pushups. Riza will make sure you do them all," Roy told her as he walked towards the door.

"What?!" Robyn cried in disbelief.

"You said you'd follow my orders without questions, Roberta," Roy said sternly. "Unless, of course, you don't really want to be my apprentice?" Robyn quickly shook her head, so Roy then turned to Riza.

"No helping her, Riza," he said firmly. "I want her to do this on her own. You can't even help her out of the chair."

"Yes, sir," Riza saluted. Roy nodded briskly, and then walked out the door.

"Aw, man," Robyn sighed as she slowly started lowering herself onto the ground, wincing as her right stump of a leg suddenly stung. "What the hell did I get myself into?"

"I'm sure he's just trying to help you," Riza told Robyn, but remained frozen in her position against the wall. "He _is_ your teacher now."

"Yeah, yeah," Robyn muttered, lowering herself into the pushup position. "Riza, would you please count for me?"

"Of course. Ready?"

"Yeah," Robyn muttered, gritting her teeth. "Let's just get this over with."

"Alright, then. Up," Hawkeye said, and Robyn quickly raised herself up, remembering all too well when she had to do almost the exact same thing at school for gym.

"1… 2… 3… 4… 5… 6… 7… 8… 9… 10…"

"I can't understand…" Robyn grunted between pushups, "Why Ed… hates him so much… I mean… if he's always this… cheerful and understanding… what's not… to love?"

"19… 20…" Riza continued steadily, though her lips quirked upward in a half smile.

"I just lost… my damn leg…" Robyn continued, "And he wants me… to do some… damn pushups… if I have to… do this again… tomorrow… I'm going to… have a seizure…"

"31… 32…"

"Though I bet… this will make it… quicker for my automail…" Robyn said thoughtfully. "I am exercising… the muscles and all… Do you… agree with me… Riza?"

"41… 42…" Riza continued, but made sure to nod her approval to Robyn. Robyn grunted and looked back down at the ground again.

"43… 44… 45… 46… 47… 48… 49… 50…"

"I bet that… Ed did… all sorts of… exercises when he… got his automail attached… and he was… way younger… than me… _and_…" Robyn grimaced slightly, "He had to… have two… limbs attached…"

"62… 63…"

"I suppose… I should stop… being such a… wuss…" Robyn said slowly. "If I want… to be friends… with Ed… and Al… I should… be strong…"

"74… 75," Riza finished. "Miss, do you know the Elric brothers?"

"What? I- I-" Robyn collapsed to the floor, sweat sliding down her face. She suddenly realized that she had been just as stupid with Envy earlier, only now it was with Riza, which probably wasn't quite as bad. "Crap," she muttered, banging her head against the floor.

"You do realize I'll have to tell the Colonel about this?" Riza asked Robyn.

"Yeah, I realize it," Robyn sighed. "That's why I feel like such an idiot."

"I don't think it's such a bad thing," Riza said gently. "In fact, I bet that if you wanted him to, the Colonel could call Edward and tell him where you are. Then he and Alphonse might be able to come here and visit you if you want."

"_This isn't over,"_ Envy growled in her mind. Robyn shuddered and closed her eyes tightly.

_If_ – and this was certainly a big _if_, she realized – but _if_ Ed still felt the same way about her, then he was definitely going to be protective about her. Maybe even more protective than he would normally be since she had already died once. And _if_ he really did still love her, then Robyn had no doubt that he would sacrifice himself for her safety. After all, he had almost done it for Al.

Robyn sighed and leaned her forehead against the floor. And even if he didn't have the superman complex, there was still the thought of how he would react when he found out that Robyn wasn't really dead.

"No," Robyn said softly. "I appreciate the thought, Riza, but I'd prefer it if you didn't call them." She buried her face in her arms as she felt a tear slide down her cheek. If the homunculi really were after her, it would just be better if the Elrics didn't think she existed anymore.

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Aw, man! Still not done! I thought I was going to finish Robyn's Story this chapter, but it seems that the chapter had other plans. –sigh- Hopefully I'll finish it next chapter, okay? Sorry! –walks off into distance still shaking head- aw, man… still not done…


	23. Robyn's Story, Part Three

Urgh, it's the last day of Thanksgiving break. I really don't want to go back to school. Just sitting at home and writing all day has been really great for the past week. I've written a lot, too. Wish Granted had just had a surge of updates recently. So now it's time for New Arrival to feel the love:D

**As you all know, AdventureAddict does not in any way own any part of Fullmetal Alchemist. **

On wit' da show!

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Chapter Twenty-Three – Robyn's Story (Part Three)

Sure enough, Riza did tell Roy about the fact that she thought Robyn knew the Elric brothers, but –much to Robyn's relief – he didn't seem to think the information was all that important and decided not to question her on it.

"Are you just going to lie on the floor for the rest of the day?" Roy said as he looked down at Robyn.

"Aw, gee, Teacher, I would get up, but you see, I just don't know if I have the strength after doing seventy-five pushup with a leg missing," Robyn said in a fake cheerful voice.

"Suit yourself," Roy shrugged, and Robyn clenched her hands into fists, but still smiled slightly. "Here," he added, thrusting out a piece of paper to Robyn. "I got a list of all the good automail mechanics nearby. See any you've heard of before?" Robyn grabbed the piece of paper and scanned down the list quickly.

"Winry Rockbell?" she said suddenly in surprise. "She's nearby?"

"No," Roy said simply, and when Robyn looked up at him, he was smiling. "I just wanted to see if you knew who she was. I already had my suspicions that you knew Edward Elric before Riza told me."

"How?"

"You were calling for him in your sleep," Roy told her, leaning forward with a smirk on his face. Robyn felt her cheeks turn a deep shade of red at the thought. "So I called him and told him where you were." Riza and Robyn both looked over at Roy.

"You- you- you what?" Robyn said faintly.

"What did you tell him, sir?" Riza said.

"I told him that there's a black-haired girl missing a leg at the Goarhausen hospital that seems to know him, and that it would probably be in his best interest to come down and see her," Roy said simply, raising one eyebrow. "What's wrong with that?"

"Well, it's just that Miss Davenport here already said that she didn't want you to call Edward Elric," Riza explained.

Robyn, meanwhile, had her head buried in her arms and was trying her best not to cry. Here she was, having Ed practically handed to her on a silver platter, and she had to turn him away. She had already decided that it would be better if Ed and Al still thought she was dead, and she was going to stick to that decision.

"Tell him it was a mistake," she said softly as she looked up. Roy looked over at her in surprise, so she said carefully, "Please, Teacher. Please just call him again and tell him it was a mistake. Say that the girl you mentioned doesn't actually know him."

"Alright," Roy said hesitantly. "But before I go, how about you figure out which mechanic you want so that I can just call them while I'm near the phone. That way I don't have to make two trips."

"Oh. Right," Robyn said, looking down at the list again. She highly doubted that she would recognize any of the names and was just planning to pick one by random when the name 'Kristine Haines' suddenly jumped out at her.

"_You... you can't help me… Just… do me… a favor. Find Kristine Haines and… tell her… tell her I love her… okay?"_

Robyn touched the small golden ring she had placed on her own right hand ring finger in hopes of reminding herself to find the girl and deliver the message.

"Kristine Haines," she said determinedly, jabbing a finger at the piece of paper. "I've heard of her before. I want her to do my automail." Roy nodded, took the paper from Robyn, and left the room a second time.

Once Robyn was sure that Roy wasn't around, she focused her efforts on pulling herself back up into her wheelchair. Her right leg hurt like hell, but she had decided that she was going to be strong.

"Why didn't you want the colonel to tell the Elrics you were here?" Riza asked once Robyn had managed to settle herself comfortable in her wheelchair. Robyn sighed and rested her chin in the palm of her hand.

"Because," she said slowly, "I just… I don't want them to get hurt."

"Ah," Riza nodded as she pulled out her handgun and began to polish it. "So, which one do you love, Edward or Alphonse?"

"What?!" Robyn sputtered quickly. "What gives you that idea?! I never said that I- that he- that they-" Riza looked up from her gun and cocked an eyebrow curiously as she considered Robyn. Robyn sighed and hung her head. "Ed," she said in a defeated tone.

"Mmhm," Riza nodded and turned back to her gun. "He is a good looking young boy. There have been plenty of young girls over the years that have had their eye on him. The real question is, does he love you back?"

"He said he did before," Robyn said softly, her eyebrows creased in thought. "But then he thought I died, and… it'd just be safer for him if he continued to think that I was dead."

"Sometimes it can hurt to protect someone you love," Riza said softly.

"Tell me about it," Robyn muttered under her breath.

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What seemed like only moments later, Robyn found herself sitting on a chair as a young girl looked over her stump of a leg. The girl had blue and purple hair that prevented Robyn from seeing her eyes properly.

"Ow," Robyn hissed as the girl poked at her leg. Robyn tried to jerk her leg away from her, but the girl just held on firmly and then went back to her examination.

"Are you Kristine Haines?" Robyn asked after a moment of silence passed between the two of them.

"Uh, yeah," the girl snorted and looked up at Robyn. "Who else would I be? You came to get an automail mechanic, and I'm examining your leg. Just call me, Kris, okay?"

"Okay," Robyn nodded and winced as Kris prodded her leg again. She then reached down to her right hand and pulled off the ring on her finger. Kris didn't seem to notice until Robyn held the ring out in front of her.

"Thomas told me to give this to you," Robyn said softly, and Kris reached for the ring with trembling fingers. "And he asked me to tell you that he loved you." At that, slow tears started falling down Kris' face.

"Oh my g-" she choked and looked up from the ring in her hand to stare at Robyn. "He's dead isn't he? He's dead. Thomas… Thomas is gone?" Robyn bit her lip and then nodded slowly, leading to a new rush of tears down Kris' face.

"We were supposed to be married," Kris sobbed. "We were supposed to… He's too young to die… and then there's you on top of everything else." Robyn perked up in surprise, wondering what she had to do with it. "I mean, when I first saw you," Kris continued in a wobbly voice, "I thought you were somehow related to him. I mean, chin has the same sort of shape to it…"

"We look similar?" Robyn squeaked in surprise. She hadn't noticed anything like that during the brief moment she had spent with him. Kris just nodded weakly.

"Well, not exactly the same," she added after a moment of consideration. "Of course the two of you look different from each other. And-" The two girls froze suddenly as they heard a gunshot echo through the distance outside. Kris wiped the tears from her eyes and race to the window to see what was going on.

"There's some fat guy and a lady with long black hair," she said slowly as she craned to see down the street. "They're attacking the guy that brought you here- woah!"

"What?" Robyn said quickly.

"That black haired guy that came with you just snapped and made the street blow up!" Kris said quickly, and Robyn thought she caught an amused tone in the girl's voice.

"Actally, he just set made fire, but close enough," Robyn said quickly. "What are the fat guy and the lady doing?" she added a second later. Kris strained to see out the window.

"It looks like they're trying to come towards the house," Kris said slowly. "But that's ridiculous. I wonder why all of them are fighting, anyway?"

"Shiiiiit," Robyn hissed angrily. "Look, Kris, this might sound horribly rude and inconsiderate, but can I dress up as your boyfriend?"

"Why?" Kris asked, turning away from the window and looking at Robyn with a confused expression. Robyn was pushing herself out of the chair and shakily standing on her one good leg.

"Because those people want to kill me. They know Thomas but they won't hurt him," Robyn explained quickly, grabbing on to the back of the chair for more support. "Please. Kris, just help me with this." Kris hesitated for a moment while she considered Robyn, but then nodded determinedly.

"You'll need cut your hair and make it brown somehow. Can you do that?" Kris asked Robyn quickly, and the one-legged girl nodded quickly in reply. "Good," Kris said before hurrying towards the stairs. "I'll go get some of his clothes and sunglasses. You'll need to cover your eyes. Thomas had one black and one red eye."

"I'll need some water to dye my hair," Robyn said quickly, and then hobbled off in the direction of the kitchen when Kris pointed for her. She quickly filled a bowl with water as she steadied herself against the counter. She quickly clapped her hands together and pressed them against the bowl, turning it into hair dye like she had seen Ed do in the anime. She quickly leaned in close and let her hair toch the water. When she pulled away again, her hair was a chestnut brown.

"Here goes nothing," Robyn muttered under her breath before clapping her hands together and pressing them against her head. She could feel her hair fall down around her shoulders to the floor, and she quickly shook her head a few times to get rid of any leftover clippings.

"Here," Kris said as she quickly ran into the room, holding out a jeans vest to Robyn. Hopefully this will get rid of the little cleavage you have."

"Gee, thanks," Robyn muttered, but stripped down quickly. As she was zipping up the vest, Kris was attaching a wooden prosthetic to her leg. Robyn quickly finished with the vest and reached for the shirt Kris was holding. She didn't protest as Kris started to put on Robyn's pants instead of letting her do it herself. Kris had even thought of bring socks to hide Robyn's fake leg.

"Here," Kris panted once she had finished with Robyn's pants, and held a pair of sunglasses out. Robyn nodded quickly before putting them on. Kris straightened and then sat in a chair, breathing heavily.

"Now we're ready if they do come," she panted, and Robyn smiled in a way that said 'thank you' to Kris very clearly. They both suddenly jerked as the heard the front door crash in. a moment later, Lust and Gluttony crashed into the kitchen, followed closely by Roy. Robyn could see the surprise on her teacher's face as he took I her change in appearance, and she quickly mouthed the word 'Thomas.' Roy nodded briskly in acknowledgement.

"Well, well, what's this?" Lust said as she looked over Robyn. "Envy said that you brought the Davenport girl here."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Roy said quickly. "I never brought a girl here, I came here with _Thomas_." Lust turned away from Roy and grinned at Robyn.

"Well, it's not what I was expecting, but it certainly isn't bad," Lust said slowly.

"Can I eat him, Lust?" Gluttony asked eagerly. "Can I? Please Lust?"

"No," Lust said firmly. "Thomas here is your new brother. I suppose he can be the new Greed. That is, if what Envy said was true," she said slowly, then walked up to Robyn and pulled off her sunglasses. Robyn flinched and turned away, but a second too late.

"Beautiful purple eyes, just like a good homunculus should have," Lust grinned, and Robyn turned back to glare at the buxom sin.

"I'll never join you," Robyn spat angrily. "Never."

"Too bad we don't have anything that a growing homunculus needs," Lust added slowly. "I guess we'll have to check up on you again later, Thomas. Come on, Gluttony," she said, and the two walked back out of the house.

"That was close," Roy said after a minute of silence. "Nice costume, by the way," he said with a slight smile as he looked over at Robyn. Robyn grinned back and gave him a thumbs up.

"Your voice sounded nothing like Thomas," Kris scoffed, making Robyn look over at her. "If you want to stay disguised like Thomas, you're going to have to work at disguising your voice."

"You mean… You'll let me stay like this?" Robyn asked slowly. Kris froze for a minute, her eye locked with Robyn's but then slowly smiled and shrugged. Robyn smiled back before reaching over and enveloping Kris in a hug.

"I don't think we'll have to tell the kids that stay here, but we'll definitely have to tell Harley," Kris said when the two girls separated. "She'll know something's up as soon as she sees you."

"Thank you, Kris," Robyn said softly.

"Don't be thanking me just yet!" Kris snapped back. "You've got your work cut out for you! Now get in that room and let me attach your automail, asshole!" Robyn paled and quickly went back to the room she had been in earlier, wondering what she had gotten herself into.

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Yay! Robyn's story is done! And New Arrival is almost completely done! Can you believe it? I know that I certainly can't it seems like I've been writing about Robyn and Ed forever. At least there are still a few more chapters to enjoy together. –sniffle-


	24. Teacher's Return

Woo hoo! Believe it or not, I actually had pretty much this entire chapter handwritten out in my notebook. It took up six pages, front and back, so more like twelve pages… and then I had to type it all in and make revisions while I did that… -dies-

Must I? But the fanfic is almost done… isn't it in your head forever by now? Ah well… ME. NO. OWN. I don't own Fulmetal Alchemsit in any way, shape or form. Happy?

On wit' da show!

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Chapter Twenty-Four – Teacher's Return

"So that's what happened?" Ed asked when Robyn finally finished her story. "But then how did you get black and red eyes? That one time in the train I pulled off your sunglasses and your eyes were red and black, not purple."

"And how did I get golden eyes?" Robyn asked with a grin and looked up at Ed. "I remembered the colored eye contacts from my world and created some as some extra security in case I ran into other people who once knew Thomas. Or Robyn," she added quickly. "But yeah, that's pretty much all of it."

"But what happened in the time between when the homunculi showed up and when you finally found me?" Ed asked her curiously.

"Ah, not too much," Robyn said dismissively. "Kris was attaching my automail, and Roy kept making me do even more exercises every day, along with Alchemy lessons." Ed winced at the thought. Automail surgery was already painful enough, but with Roy it would be _hell_. At least, for him.

"And Kris was teaching me how to imitate voices whenever I had a free moment," Robyn added. I didn't get very much sleep back then. Roy left for a few months because he had to go back to military headquarters, and that was about when I started practicing my fire people. I got my automail done in nine months, and when Kris was done with me I went to Central to learn more from Roy. After a while doing that, I found Ben. One day I-" Robyn blushed, but continued, "Well, I was hoping that you would find me, so I dressed up like myself and walked around Central for a bit. It was really kinda stupid of me. I even saw Al at the train station, but I didn't have the guts to go up to you guys."

"Al saw you that day too," Ed said softly. "He didn't know whether you were real, a hallucination, or even a ghost. And then I was too busy missing you to think you could still be around."

"It's okay, Sunshine," Robyn whispered softly, rearranging herself so that her head was resting against his chest more snugly. "Anyway, I found Ben in an alley and led him to a park while I was dressed as Robyn. Then I ran off, got changed into my Thomas clothes and picked him up again. Ben still doesn't know that Thomas is really a girl. I don't even want to think about his reaction if he ever saw me taking a pee." Ed smiled slightly, then reached out and ran a hand through Robyn's golden bangs.

"I still can't believe how you managed to imitate me," Ed muttered softly. "Even Clause fell for it. I guess your voice really did sound similar to mine."

"Well I would hope so, after hours of Kris teaching me how to imitate voices," Robyn scoffed. "You should hear her imitate voices sometime; she's really good. Besides, I'd spent hours watching anime of you before I even met you," she added with a laugh before switching to her imitation of Ed's voice. "That did make it a little easier."

"Could you please not do that?" Ed asked, suddenly frowning down at Robyn. She cocked her head to one side in confusion, so Ed explained, "It's really weird to talk to someone who looks like my reflection and have them talk back in my voice."

"Well, would it be better if I used this voice?" Robyn asked, suddenly switching to her Thomas voice. A shudder an through Ed's body and he quickly shook his head, making Robyn laugh. "You know, I'm going to have to use this voice sometimes to protect myself from the homunculi," she told him.

"No, you don't," Ed growled through clenched teeth. "Let them find you. They'll never lay a finger on you with me around. I'd like to see Envy try to kill you when I'm around."

"Not to sound like I don't trust you, Sunshine," Robyn said slowly, making Ed smile at the familiar nickname, even though it didn't sound like she was about to say something good. "But what if one day you weren't able to protect me? How crummy would you fell then?" Ed frowned at the thought, his earlier smile disappearing almost instantly.

"See?" Roby said softly, hoping that Ed would understand the logic behind her reasoning. "I have to disguise myself as Thomas at least when we're in public. For both our sakes. Do you get it?"

"Yeah," Ed said softly, and was silent for a minute as he thought, then said determinedly, "I guess I'll have to be gay, then."

"What?!" Roby spluttered, pushing away from him slightly so she could look at him properly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, if you're going to be disguised as a guy, then it would just be easier for me to be gay," Ed said simply. "It would just be too hard to only be able to kiss you – or even hold your hand – when we're not in public. So I guess I'll have to be gay. I know you're a girl, you know you're a girl, even Al knows you're a girl, and I don't care what anybody else thinks."

"Kris and Harley know too," Robyn added with an amused smile. "And Riza and Teacher."

"Damn," Ed muttered. "I would have loved to see the look an Mustang's face when I walked into his office holding hands with a guy."

"Well, nobody else at headquarters knows," Robyn told him as she started thinkiong about what would happen when they showed up there. "You can still surprise Havoc, Fury, Falman and Breda."

"And Armstrong," Ed added quickly, grinning mischievously at the thought.

"I don't know if this is such a good idea," Robyn said slowly after a minute. "I mean, first there's your reputation to consider." Ed shrugged nonchalantly. "And then there's the fact that the homunculi were already suspicious of Thomas staying around a girl from his life before he became a homunculus. I bet they'd be even more suspicious if he suddenly started dating someone new, and a _guy_, at that. Homunculi aren't supposed to know the meaning of love, remember?"

"So 'Thomas' is a weird homunculus," Ed shrugged simply. "Isn't it already suspicious that you haven't taken any red stones from them for a whole year?"

"Yeah," Robyn sighed. "I guess 'Thomas' is already a pretty suspicious homunculus. Fine, I guess you can be gay if that's what you really want." Ed flashed a triumphant grin at her, and Robyn grinned back before leaning her face towards his and pressing their lips together.

Ed smiled against Robyn, and – knowing that he now knew all that had happened to Robyn – pressed against her more purposefully. He rubbed his lower lip against her upper one before briefly breaking away for air. Robyn wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him back in towards her, though he didn't need much convincing.

Ed dropped his left arm from her shoulders and grabbed her waist instead. He felt his hand slide under her shirt until he felt warm skin beneath his fingers. He let his fingers trail across her stomach until they brushed against a rough bump, and he curiously pressed his thumb against it. Robyn jerked and accidentally bit Ed's lip in surprise.

"Sorry," Robyn said quickly as she lightly held a hand to her stomach, pressing her shirt – or, more accurately, Ed's borrowed shirt – against her skin. "That's just a bit of a tender spot right now." Ed suddenly realized that the bump was the scar she had gotten from getting shot. Al _had _said she used fire to seal the wound earlier, but now it looked almost as if…

"You're bleeding!" Ed said worriedly. Robyn pulled her hand away and looked down, noticing that her shirt was indeed covered in blood.

"Shit," she muttered, and the reached into the pocket of her – Ed's – red jacket. Ed immediately recognized the familiar white gloves. Robyn pulled one onto her right hand and rolled up her shirt until the bullet wound was revealed.

"I don't think it's bad enough to need to be resealed," Robyn said slowly, and Ed felt a pang of guilt. With one simple touch, he had reopened the wound Robyn had worked so hard to seal. "I uses I was just overreacting," Robyn said lightly as she lowered her gloved hand. Ed winced with her when she touched a finger to the wound. "But I think I need to bandage it." Ed nodded before quickly tearing off his red coat. He clapped his hands together and pressed them against the fabric, quickly turning it into a long red strip.

"Do you need help?" he asked, holding up the red cloth. Robyn considered it for a moment, then nodded before peeling her shirt back up to reveal bare, bleeding stomach. Ed hurried forward and Robyn let him crouch in front of her and wrap the bandage tightly around her stomach, feeling his fingers tremble slightly as he did so.

"Hey, Sunshine," Robyn said, trying to keep her tine light as she pressed a hand against Ed's golden head. "It's okay. I'm sure I can handle this. I've survived worse before."

"That's just what I don't like," Ed muttered, tightening the bandages slightly. Robyn winced but recovered quickly, glad that Ed hadn't seen that he had hurt her, even if it had only been for a brief moment. Ed quickly tied the bandages, then sighed and leaned backwards on his hands. Robyn pulled her shirt back down and sat gently in his lap.

Ed jerked in surprise, nearly making Robyn jump out of his lap, but he made no movements to get her off, so she stayed put. Instead of getting away from him, she wrapped her arms around him and snuggled her head into his shoulder.

"I can't stand the fact that you lost your leg and I wasn't there for you,"Ed sighed, reaching his hand up to stroke her hair. "I know that I thought you were dead, and we weren't even in the same town, but I had always had a nagging feeling that you were still alive. I thought it was silly of me to think that since there wasn't a body you could still be alive somewhere, but then it turns out that you really were alive all this time. I just want to be there to protect you, Robyn. I hate to see you hurt. I just-" he paused before shifting his shoulder curiously. Robyn didn't move from her position.

"Great," Ed sighed, moving back to his original position while he continued to stroke Robyn's hair. "Just great. Here I am, telling you _my_ side of the story and you fall asleep. Though I shouldn't be upset about it, since you really do need the rest."

"All right, break it up, you two!" a voice said loudly from the doorway. Ed turned to look and saw Kris standing there with her arms crossing her chest. "You're as bad as a pair of squirrels during mating season! Now get off each other before I come in there and pull you apart!"

"Robyn fell asleep!" Ed hissed back in reply. "It's not my fault that she happened to fall asleep _on top of me_!"

"Oh, and as if you weren't hoping for that, you love-obsessed bastard," Kris retorted hotly. Ed sighed and slowly shifted his body so that his arm was under Robyn's legs. She just sighed happily and snuggled deeper into his shoulder.

"I may be a bastard," Ed said as he pulled himself into a standing position and held Robyn bridal-style. "And I may be-" Ed gulped and looked down at Robyn, "In love. But I am not _love-obsessed_." With that , Ed went up to Robyn's room to put her into her own bed and let her rest. Kris scowled for a second, then sighed and flopped on the sofa.

T-H-I-S--I-S—A--D-I-V-I-D-I-N-G--L-I-N-E

"**Roberta Chelsea Davenport!!"** a voice boomed from downstairs, and the wails of Claudia and cracks started once again. Ed jerked in his chair at the noise and saw that Robyn had woken up and was now sinking under her covers.

Roy then burst into the room, his face red with fury. Robyn let out a worried squeak before completely diving under her covers. Ed looked at Robyn worriedly, then quickly rushed over and stood in the space between her and Roy. It wasn't hard for him to decide which side he was on.

"Don't hurt her," Ed growled through clenched teeth at his superior officer. He spread his arms to either side as if it would help to protect Robyn more. "How'd you get in here, anyway?"

"Ever heard of a front door, Fullmetal?" Roy retorted quickly. Ed's scowl deepened at the comment before Roy added, "Kris let me in. she knows me. And your brother called and he told me all about what happened," he said with extra emhasis to Robyn, who had peeked over the top of her covers to see what was going on. She blushed bright red and quickly ducked back under her covers.

"What the hell made you think that going to Impar was a good idea?!" Roy continued, yelling at the covered jump on the bed, which was now trembling slightly. "And you-!" he then turned to Ed angrily. "Why did you even let her go to Impar?!"

"I thought she was a guy!" Ed snapped back quickly. "And she said she would do my report so I wouldn't have to… er… I mean…" Ed stopped, realizing what he was saying, and that it could probably get him fired.

"If you didn't feel like you could handle Impar, then you should have told me," Roy scolded, making Ed flinch slightly. "You're a State Alchemist, and Roberta isn't, whether she looks like a guy or a girl. _You're _the one who signed up for this, Fullmetal."

"I- I-" Ed stammered, but then realized that he had nothing to say. "You're right. It was stupid of me to do that. I was just thinking about myself."

Robyn peeked out from her covers a second time, looking at Ed in surprise, he hadn't physically said 'I'm sorry,' but he had gotten as close to an appolgy as he could without saying those two words.

"And don't you go thinking that you're off the hook," Roy snapped at Robyn. "You're damn lucky the Elrics showed up when they did! You could have died! And then you used fire to seal your wound?! _I_ nearly passed out when I did that!"

"Al was there to help me," Robyn offered weakly. "And your wound was bigger than mine. I just had a little gunshot. Besides, I did make a promise to someone that I wouldn't die," she added, looking over at Ed, who blushed slightly.

"No backtalking!" Roy snapped back at her. "And no excuses! Just be glad you were hurt, because other wise I would be killing you myself right now," he looked at her pointedly before turning back to Ed. "Fullmetal, could I have a minute?" he nodded towards the door.

"You know, I think I'd rather stay her with _pleasant_ company," Ed said, stubbornly crossing his arms across his chest. "Besides, how do I know that someone won't come in here and 'teach' Robyn a 'lesson' while I'm gone?"

"Fullmetal, step outside _now_, or I'll have you discharged," Roy said sternly. Ed scowled and looked over at Robyn, who gave him a slight nod. He rolled his eyes, but walked out of the room with Roy.

Roy carefully closed the door behind him and then turned to Ed while holding a hand to his forehead. Roy rubbed at his forhead a few times, as if he was making an extremely hard decision. Ed's eyebrows creased curiously as he looked at Roy, wondering what Roy wanted to talk to him about.

"Promise me one thing Edward," Roy finally sighed as he pulled his hand away from his face and looked down at Ed, who looked confused at the fact that Roy had used his real name for once. "Just promise me you'll take care of her."

"Huh?"

"You obviously love Roberta," Roy said, and a blush jumped to Ed's cheeks for the second time that day. Ed realized that for the first time he wasn't denying one of Roy's claims concerning love and Ed. "Just promise me you'll take care of her."

"Um…" Ed jammed one hand into his pocket and reached up to scratch the back of his head with the other. "Yeah, sure," he mumbled. He knew that even without Riyt he would have tried his best to protect Robyn. Roy nodded, satisfied with Ed's answer, and the two fell silent.

"Hughes would have like her," Ed said after a while. A smile twitched at the corners of Roy's lips and he nodded in agreement.

"He would have never let you hear the end of it," Roy added amusedly. "Getting a girl would have made you a real man to him."

"And yet I've never felt less like a man in my life," Ed laughed bitterly. "Well, except for when Al nearly…" he trailed off, and Roy nodded in understanding. "It's just that.. every time I'm around her, I feel like a helpless, babbling idiot."

"Well, that's not how she see you," Roy assured him. "You should have heard her during that time she wasn't around you. It was always Ed this and Ed that. It was really rather annoying." ED grinned helplessly at the thought and leaned against the wall.

"She's so great, isn't she?" Ed sighed happily. Roy rolled his eyes with a sigh. Teenagers in love, they were all the same. At least he knew they were each ending up with another good kid. Meanwhile, Ed's smile had turned to a frown as he had continued to think.

"I've really got to find the Philosopher's Stone," he said slowly. "Al needs to be back to normal before I can- we can- we- er- even think about-" he stopped his stuttering and started humming the wedding march under his breath. Roy laughed and patted him on the shoulder.

"Just as long as you don't propose to her like that," Roy chuckled, making Ed blush yet again. "And don't take _too_ long. Girls can get impatient at times. Even though I have a feeling that Roberta would wait by your side for years. Go on back in, I'm done talking to you," Roy finally sighed, noticing Ed's fidgeting.

Ed couldn't stop himself from grinning as he walked back to the door and grasped the doorknob firmly I his hand. He had no idea how he was supposed to act in a relationship, but he figured he'd have fun figuring it out in the meantime.

It was going to be one hell on an adventure.

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Meanwhile, over here it's ALMOST winter break. We still got a whole nother week to go though. I'm about ready to die out of schoolitis. And write fanfic in any spare minute I can manage to grab for myself. XD One more chap to go, hopefully, and maybe an epilogue!


	25. Just the Beginning

I can't believe it. It's the LAST chapter. I never thought that I would ever finish this. Enjoy it while you can. Hopefully you'll find this chapter funny. If you have a weird feeling of déjà vu during the first part, I suggest looking back to the end of chapter twelve in The New Neighbors. XD

-sings- Not mine, not mine, Fullmetal Alchemist is not mine and never waaaaaas!

On wit' da show!

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Chapter Twenty-Five – Just the Beginning…

Robyn sighed before trying to adjust herself in her bed for what seemed like the millionth time since Ed had left to go sleep in his own bed, rather than the hard chair in her room. She had woken up once to find that long hair was really annoying after years with short, so she quickly transmuted it back to the style she had once worn in America. She knew she was going to have to change it back to Thomas' short brown hair eventually, but she was going to enjoy her own hair style as long as she could.

Finally she gave up trying to sleep and pulled herself out of bed. She had taken off Ed's red jacket, but left the other clothes on she had gone to bed because she had been so tired. She quickly grabbed the red coat off the back of the chair Ed had been sleeping in, wrapped it around her tightly to keep warm, and then went out into the hall.

She walked slowly into Ed's room, trying not to step on any cracks even though Claudia was asleep by now. Sometimes she would start screaming about cracks when she was usually supposed to be asleep. Robyn didn't even know how the girl could tell when someone had stepped on a crack in another room.

Ed was lying silently on his bed in the darkness. Robyn slowly walked across the room and knelt down beside the bed, hoping that he wasn't sleeping too soundly. She knew that he usually had nightmares, but he seemed unusually quiet tonight.

"Ed," she whispered, leaning in close enough to feel his hair brush against her nose. "Ed, please wake up." Ed moaned and rolled over in his sleep, pulling the pillow over his head. Robyn sighed and bit her lip worriedly, wondering if she should keep trying to wake him up.

"Please, Ed," Robyn pleaded, thinking that she would stop if he didn't wake up after that. She didn't want to deprive him of sleep.

"What?" Ed mumbled, cracking his eyes open to look at her. "Robyn?" he said sleepily, rubbing at one eye. Robyn felt guilty for waking him up, but had no idea of how else she was going to get any sleep that night. "Wuz wrong?"

"I can't sleep," Robyn said softly as he pushed himself into a sitting position. She immediately noticed that he had fallen asleep in a shirt and pants for once instead of the usual plain boxers. It really was getting cold out, and the whole house was starting to feel it.

"Well, now neither of us can," Ed sighed and looked at her. "How's your wound doing?" he asked suddenly. He glanced down at her stomach worriedly, and Robyn realized that she was still wearing the shirt covered in blood. She gingerly touched a hand to her stomach, trying her best not to wince in front of Ed. That would only worry him more.

"I think it's okay," she said slowly. "I just can't sleep," she added, earning a sigh from Ed. She bit her lip worriedly, knowing that she had woken him up.

"Brother?"

Ed and Robyn both looked up to see Al standing in the doorway.

"Is everything okay?" he asked. "I heard voices."

"It's fine, Al," Ed said with a sigh. "Robyn couldn't sleep."

Al looked down at Robyn, who was now kneeling by the bed, and had both her arms resting on it. She grinned sheepishly at Al, but her mind was mostly concentrated on the fact that she could feel Ed's left arm against hers.

"Would you like some ice water?" Al asked kindly. Robyn just shook her head silently. "Okay. I'm going to go then," Al said, looking between the two. Robyn and Ed both nodded in unison, and he walked away.

"Can I just stay with you?" Robyn whispered, leaning in towards Ed again. She caught a whiff of vanilla, and vaguely wondered if it was his shampoo or from something else. She was finally starting to feel sleepy just by being near Ed, and she didn't want to leave and not be able to sleep again.

"I might kick you out if I start having nightmares," Ed whispered back, and then added, "It's a pretty small bed."

"I don't mind," Robyn said quickly. It was a small price to pay if it meant she would finally be able to get some sleep. And besides, it hadn't sounded like Ed had been having a rough night yet.

Ed looked as if he was suddenly struck with inspiration, then grabbed Robyn's hand and pulled her out of the room. At the end of the hallway he stopped in front of a wooden door and opened it, revealing a large room with a double bed in it. Robyn looked at it in surprise, then looked over at Ed. His eyes were large round circles looking at the bed. Robyn knew just from his surprised expression that she was safe from him trying to force her into anything.

"Remember, if I start kicking you during the night, I warned you," he said as he walked up to the bed and pulled back the covers. Robyn looked at the thick covers longingly as Ed crawled under them. It looked so comfortable. She quickly pulled off the red coat and dumped it on the floor before climbing in next to Ed.

Robyn quickly curled up close to Ed, hoping that he wouldn't get nervous and jerk away from her. He seemed surprised for a moment, then slowly reached out and wrapped his arms around her. Robyn grinned happily as he pulled her in even closer, and she slowly untangled her arms and wound them around his waist, looking up at him. His eyes were already closed, with half a smile resting on his lips. Robyn realized in that moment that she never wanted to leave him, no matter what.

"Ed, will you promise me something?" she asked softly. Ed opened his eyes again and looked down at her sleepily.

"What?" he asked, trying to hide a yawn from Robyn, but she saw it anyway and realized that they were both exhausted. It had been a long two days.

"You won't leave me alone in the morning," Robyn said. Ed looked at her curiously, so she sighed and explained, "In movies, whenever a guy and a girl are sleeping in the same bed, the guy always wakes up first and gets out of the bed, leaving the girl all alone."

"I promise I won't get out of this bed until you wake up," he assured her softly. Robyn sighed happily and tightened her grip around him slightly. She let her fingers trail up his back until she felt a soft braid in her fingers. Ed jerked slightly at the contact, but didn't push her away.

"You left your hair in its braid," she whispered as she wrapped his hair around her finger and then uncurled it again. It wasn't fair that a guy had such soft hair. It made Robyn's fingers tingle just twisting it while it was still braided.

"Oops," Ed mumbled sleepily. Robyn grinned into his neck and then pulled out the band holding his hair in a braid. She felt a shiver go down her spine as she started unbraiding his hair, while she felt Ed relax against her. His hair was quickly completely unbraided, but Robyn couldn't bear to pull her hands away from his hair, so she kept them entangled in it and curled up against Ed. Ed's breathing deepened as he fell asleep, and Robyn fell asleep soon after.

T-H-I-S--I-S—A--D-I-V-I-D-I-N-G--L-I-N-E

Robyn slowly opened her eyes and found herself in a sea of gold. She was confused for a moment, but then remembered the events of last night and suddenly realized that it was Ed's hair. She sighed and slowly started to pull away, but a pair of strong arms stopped her.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Ed breathed into her ear amusedly. Robyn laughed softly, and Ed took it as his cue to start kissing her neck, making Robyn laugh even more.

"Stop it, I'm ticklish!" she protested with a laugh. Ed laughed with her and continued to kiss her neck lightly, moving up to her ear. "Stop, stop!" Robyn laughed, batting at Ed's golden bangs. He pulled away from her and looked her steadily in the eyes.

"You shouldn't have slept for so long then," Ed said simply. "It gave me too much time to think. And I realized-" he paused and grinned and her before leaning in and kissing her briefly. When he pulled away again, Robyn was looking at him confusedly.

"I realized just how much I love you," Ed finished softly. "That year without you was one of the most hellish years I've ever had. I don't want to go through that again. And if it weren't for Al… and the homunculi… and the… I'd… well, I'd…" He paused, a light blush staining his cheeks. Robyn smiled, realizing that she was lucky to have him get as far as 'I love you' without this happening.

"I love you too, Sunshine," she said softly. "And I never want to leave you again, no matter what happens." She leaned in and pressed her lips tightly against his in a much longer kiss that the one he had just given her. Ed was a little resistant at first, but he quickly gave in. As he kissed her, he slowly moved himself into a sitting position, Robyn following his lead in order to keep kissing him.

"We should probably go downstairs soon," Ed gasped when he finally broke away.

"I don't care what they think," Robyn said quickly.

"Well, neither do I, but-" he was cut off as Robyn wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for another kiss. Ed grinned against her as he thought of a sudden idea, and he pulled away from her to start kissing her cheek in a line towards her ear.

"Hey, I told you I'm ticklish!" Robyn squealed, squirming slightly. Ed grinned and made his kisses even more feathery soft. Robyn laughed insanely and in her squirming, dropped back down to the bed.

"Hold still," Ed laughed, kneeling above Robyn before leaning in to start kissing her again. Robyn started laughing and squirming again, but this time Ed had one knee on either side that kept her in place. Ed grinned triumphantly against her as he finally reached her ear. He nibbled gently on the tip of her ear, and Robyn's laughing turning into shrieks of protest.

"Hey," Ed said, pulling away from her to look into her eyes. "Do you want to bring everyone in here? They'll think I'm murdering you or something."

"I'm sure they'd think of other things before murder," Robyn choked out, wiping a tear from her eye. Ed grinned sheepishly at her before remembering that Roy was still in the house.

"That might be almost as bad as them thinking I'm killing you," Ed said slowly. Robyn grinned for a moment before they both realized how bad looking of a position they were in. Ed was kneeling directly over Robyn, and she had wrapped her leg around his waist in an attempt to get him off.

"Ummm…"

"Errr…"

"Oh, what the hell," Robyn shrugged before wrapping her arms around Ed's neck and pulling him down to her. Ed kissed her back firmly for a minute before he broke away uncertainly.

"Robyn, I don't know if we should…"

"I'll take the blame if Teacher finds out," Robyn whispered. Ed bit his lip uncertainly for a moment before he couldn't resist the temptation any longer. It just felt _so damn good_ to finally have Robyn in his arms again. How could he even consider leaving her?

Ed felt Robyn smile as he started kissing her again. He carefully braced himself against the bed with his automail arm and ran his free hand down Robyn's side. Ed felt goosebumps run down his spine when he reached the hem of her shirt. He firmly wrapped his fingers around it and started pulling it up quickly. Robyn felt what he was doing and sat up, making the shirt fall back down to her waist. Ed felt himself groan inwardly.

"Equivalent Exchange, Sunshine," Robyn said with a smile. "I'll take off my shirt if you take off yours."

"That's not equivalent," Ed sighed. "You'll have a bra on underneath your shirt."

"Nope," Robyn grinned mischievously, enjoying the sight of Ed's eyes bugging out of his head. "I had to wear a vest that made me look like a guy for such a long time that once I realized that everyone over the age of thirteen knew I was a girl, well, I figured to hell with bras and vests for a while."

"Sounds good to me," Ed agreed quickly, pulling his shirt up over his head and tossing it to the side. He then hissed in surprise as the cold guitar pick necklace came in contact with his bare skin. He had forgotten he was wearing it. Robyn smiled at him, then placed a hand against his chest. Ed froze and then smiled, wondering how such a simple action could get to him so easily. Robyn smiled back before trailing her hand across his chest, stopping at his automail and running a finger along the edge that connected the metal to his shoulder. She then trailed her fingers farther up until she was at his neck. She picked up one of the guitar picks and rubbed it between two fingers.

"I didn't think you'd still be wearing this," Robyn said softly.

"Do you want it back?" Ed asked worriedly.

"Sunshine, I've given you a lot of things during the time I've known you," Robyn said softly. "And I trust you with every single one of them. Just don't break it, okay?"

"Okay," Ed agreed softly, and was rewarded with Robyn leaning in and kissing him passionately. He found his hand trailing down her side once again, but when he started pulling her shirt up this time, she didn't do anything to stop him. He got it up to her shoulders, and then she broke away from him briefly to help him get it off the rest of the way. She was back on him again so quickly he didn't get a chance to see what was under her shirt.

He slowly pulled his arm from around her shoulders and let it trail down Robyn's skin, making Ed wonder how she managed to be so soft. He pushed only slightly, and Robyn fell backward on the bed, making it so Ed was kneeling over her like before. He felt her wrap her leg around his hip once more while he continued to explore the upper half of her body with his fingers, trying his best to keep his touch light and gentle.

"Brother?"

Ed heard the creak of the door and quickly crashed down on top of Robyn in an attempt to stop Al from seeing her naked torso. They both looked over at Al like two deer caught in the headlights.

"Erm… I'm sorry! …I didn't mean to… I'm sorry!" Al said quickly, slamming the door shut again.

"Ow," Robyn coughed, and Ed quickly pushed himself off her enough so she could breathe. "Thanks, Sunshine," she said gratefully. Ed winced hoping that he hadn't managed to open her wound a second time. He glanced down and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it was fine. He figured she must have taken the bandages off sometime during the night, since she was no longer wearing them. If she was well enough to go around without any bandages, then she was fine.

"What do you mean 'they're busy'?!" a loud voice demanded from the hall. This time, Ed didn't get a chance to react before Kris stormed into the room. "What the hell is wrong with you two assholes?!" Kris fumed at Robyn and Ed, who seemed frozen in place. "We leave you alone for just a few hours and this is what happens?! There are KIDS in the house!! Now get dressed and get downstairs before I come in there and pull you off each other!! We've got an emergency!! Code H!!" and with that, she stormed back out of the room.

"Shit!" Robyn yelled, jerking quickly into a sitting position and bumping her head with Ed's in the process. She jumped out of the bed and grabbed one of the two identical shirts off the floor; not knowing it was really Ed's shirt.

"What the hell does 'code H' mean?" Ed asked, rubbing at the sore spot on his forehead and wondering how the situation had changed so quickly.

"H. Homunculus," Robyn said simply as she pulled the shirt over her head. ED eyes widened considerably at the word and he also got out of the bed. "One or more of the homunculi is coming this way."

"What do you need?" Ed asked quickly.

"My vest," Robyn said instantly. "And my eye contacts. Those are both in my room. Then I'll need some water to dye my hair brown again. I think I might still have some water in my room from when I was messing with my hair last night." Ed nodded quickly and they both ran off to her room.

Robyn pulled her shirt off again almost as immediately once they entered the room. She quickly grabbed her vest off the floor and shrugged it on, while Ed had found the bowl of water on her nightstand. He quickly clapped his hands and transmuted it into brown hair dye.

"Ed, use one of my shirts," Robyn said quickly in her Thomas voice. Ed nodded and looked over to see her buttoning up a red shirt. "And could you grab my sunglasses? I left them on my dresser." Ed nodded and grabbed the sunglasses, then took the first long-sleeved black shirt he saw on a pile of dirty clothes. He pulled it on while Robyn was busy fiddling with her eye contacts. Once he pulled on the shirt, he realized that there was a white transmutation circle on the front. It was a simple circle, one that would deal with any of the four basic elements of alchemy – fire, water, air and earth.

"Nice," he said, jabbing a thumb at the array. Robyn turned back to look at him and smiled, though the red and black eyes were a bit jarring to Ed. She then turned and dipped her hair into the dye, letting it flow up to her roots. She carefully shook it out a few times, then clapped her hands together and pressed them against her head. There was the usual flash of light, and then the extra bits of hair fell to the floor.

"Here," Ed said, tossing the sunglasses to her. Robyn quickly caught them and jammed them onto her face.

"I still have your extra pair of boots in here," she said quickly, still using her Thomas voice. "You wear those, I'll put on my tennis shoes, okay?" Ed nodded and sat down on the bed next to Robyn to pull on his boots. As he put them on, he glanced over at her. All the curves he had just been admiring only _minutes_ ago were already gone and replaced by a boyish figure.

"Being gay is going to suuuck," Ed sighed, and Robyn sympathetically patted him on the knee. The two of them then stood and ran down to the living room. Harley, Kris and Al were busy trying to dress the sleepy children, which was not going very well, to say the least.

"Thomas!" Ben said, spotting Robyn and hurrying over to her. "What's going on? Why is everybody saying we have to go?"

"Some bad people are coming this way," 'Thomas' said, crouching down to Ben's eye level. "We have to get out of here to make sure they won't hurt any of us. Where's Teacher?"

"Out distracting the homunculi," Kris answered briskly.

"How many?" Ed asked quickly.

"Four," Al replied. "It's quite the welcoming party. I hope Colonel Mustang doesn't get hurt. Maybe someone should try to go help him." Ed just scoffed.

"We have to get the kids to safety first," 'Thomas' said determinedly. "Then we can go help Teacher."

"I guess that'll just have to be good enough," Harley said as she finished buttoning up Samuel's shirt. Samuel protested weakly that she had done the buttons in the wrong order, but was too tired to put up a real fight. Al and Kris both nodded in agreement and stood up. They all turned to go out the back door, herding the kids with them.

At least, everyone except Harley.

"Good luck, you guys," she said sadly, leaning against the wall. Al stopped and turned around to stare at her. "I'll try to delay the homunculi as much as possible."

"What?!" Al said in disbelief, making the rest of the group stop and turn around. "You can't just stay here! If the homunculi come here and find you here with us missing, they might… they might torture you! Maybe even kill you!"

"And what do you expect me to do?" Harley scoffed. "Just walk out of here? Sorry to burst your bubble, but that's not going to happen. The only way you're going to be able to get me out of here is if you have a big black box with wheels to put me into."

'Thomas' and Ed both froze suddenly and looked at Al, struck with sudden inspiration. Al was already unsnapping his chest plate. He quickly undid the straps and then slammed the chest plate on the floor.

"Get in," Al said firmly to Harley, pointing at the empty black space where a body would have been for a normal person. "I may not have wheels, but I'm just a fancy version of your big black box. I'll get you away from the homunculi." Harley looked at him uncertainly for a minute, then grinned and climbed in. Al hurriedly put the chest plate back on, securing it place at the fastest rate he had ever done.

"Ready?" he asked, and a reply of 'Ready!' echoed back from inside. "We're going to have to run for it," he said worriedly as Ben scrambled up onto Robyn's back and Samuel onto Ed's. Kris was already holding the little Alice in one arm, so Al quickly grabbed Claudia and Peter, one in each arm.

"Let's go!" Ed shouted, running ahead.

"We have to get everyone down to the train station!" 'Thomas' called out behind him. Kris quickly followed behind the two.

"Okay," Al said hesitantly, and then started to run towards the back door. He didn't hear any huge clanking from a body hitting his sides, so he figured that Harley must have braced herself before he had started, thankfully.

"Thanks, Unicorn," Harley said softly from inside. "You really are a true friend." Al would have beamed if he could have.

"Once we get to the train station, I'm going back to help Teacher," 'Thomas' grunted. Ed's eyebrows creased and he looked over to the side, his pace slowing slightly.

"Don't you dare think for one second that you can go off without me," Ed said firmly.

"I know," 'Thomas' grinned. "That's why I was telling you. I figured you'd want a little heads up before I went running off."

"Well, as long as we're clear," Ed grunted in reply, hoisting Samuel further up his back.

"Thomas? Where're you going?" Ben asked groggily as 'Thomas' put him down on the train station platform.

"We'll be back soon," 'Thomas' assured him, and then glanced up at the destination for the train leaving the earliest. "We just have to go take care of the bad people. You're train is going to a town called Resembool. That's where that nice girl Winry lives. I want you to find her, and then me and Ed will come meet you there real soon, okay?"

"Okay," Ben agreed, and gave 'Thomas' a hug around the neck before letting Kris lead him on to the train. 'Thomas' and Ed glanced at each other and then started racing back in the direction they had just come.

"You see, this is why we should have told me about this sooner," Ed panted as they ran. "Then we could have been having this much fun a year ago."

"Oh yeah, oodles of fun," 'Thomas' agreed skeptically, then paused. "This is just the beginning, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Ed scoffed. "It's going to be one hell of an adventure, that's for sure."

"At least the company is nice," 'Thomas' grinned. Ed looked over, about to answer back with some witty retort, but couldn't stop himself from smiling back at his friend. 'Thomas' held out his right hand to Ed, who grabbed it with his left hand, glad he hadn't had the time to put on gloves that morning. This way, he could feel Robyn's soft skin as they raced back into town.

"The company is _great_," Ed agreed with a grin. "Definitely great enough to make it worth all the danger and risks." With that, the two raced back into town, hand in hand, to take down the homunculi.

PpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPpPp

-falls- It's really over… I can't believe it… I hope you all enjoyed the super long chapter. It was originally supposed to be just another normal length chapter, but then I accidentally deleted the original first draft and just ended up snowballing into this rather long chapter.

I myself know what would happen next, but I don't know if I'm going to post it up here… I already have a bunch of other unfinished stories, so I'm a bit hesitant to start a new one.


	26. Onward to Part 3!

Okay, so I actually did end up writing number three in this… series. There'll be at least four, I know. And maybe one story about the relationship of the original Thomas and Kris because Frankie would love to see that, and honestly, I would have fun writing it.

Anywho, the next one is called A New Beginning, and it's id number is: 3963669. It takes place after Ed, Al and Robyn manage to find the Philosopher's Stone and destroy the homunculi, though, of course, new enemies are going to pop up and start messing with all their happiness… -sigh- So it's approximately one year after A Strange Arrival ended.

Oh yeah, and super thanks to Kairi Angel, Frankie, Bagel-chan and agent000, who helped me bounce a few ideas on occasion and made the posting of new chapters go much faster than it might have gone otherwise. And if it weren't for them, then there might not have been more than New Neighbors and a long epilogue. Thanks, you guys!

It's been fun, hope to see you reviewing in A New Beginning!


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